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Non-Tech : Auric Goldfinger's Short List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ayn rand who wrote (11408)	3/24/2003 11:42:14 PM
From: afrayem onigwecher	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 19428

Some US Oil Well Fire Teams Find Iraq Plans On Hold By ROY R. REYNOLDS Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON -- The confirmation last week that Iraqi soldiers had begun to set fire to oil wells ignited contingency and travel planning for U.S. oil well firefighting companies, as they prepared to battle the blazes just as they did in Kuwait a decade earlier. For most of those well control companies, however, planning is all they've had to do so far. "In the grand scheme of things - with 1,500 oil wells in the country and only seven fires - this is the equivalent of a grease fire in the kitchen," said Jeff Miller, marketing director for RPS Inc. (RES) unit Cudd Pressure Control. "The magic number is about 20 to 25 wells, then they'd call the companies that handle these things." Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc. (WEL ) was the first U.S. well control company to get the call for operations in Iraq, benefitting from an alliance with Halliburton Co. (HAL), which drew up the initial plans on fighting fires for the Department of Defense. But there will need to be more fires before the department calls in more help. U.S.-led forces have more or less secured southern Iraq's Rumaila oil field, the country's largest. According to military officials, only nine oil wells were set on fire there by Iraqi troops. During a press briefing at Command Central in Qatar Monday morning, Brig. Gen. Vince Brooks said there were only seven fires still burning. Iraq's northern Kirkuk field, the country's second largest, isn't under U.S. control. "The big thing now would be if the fields go up in the North," Miller said. During Gulf War operations in 1991, firefighters put out nearly 700 well fires, after having prepared to fight about 200. Those fires put a shroud of black smoke over Kuwait and formed massive pools of oil that made transporting equipment to the wells difficult. Paths cleared of mines and oil slicks between wells in 1991 were so narrow that large vehicles couldn't pass each other. "(The danger can be) getting to and from the well and political circumstances," president and CEO of Superior Energy Services Inc.'s (SPN) Wild Well Control unit said in an interview earlier this year. "Once we're at the well, we know what to do." Oil well firefighters use a variety of methods to battle the blazes, including the occasional deployment of explosives to halt the flow of oil for a split second and then soaking the area to keep the flame from reigniting. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Brian Kraus, president of Boots & Coots, said blazes in the Rumaila oil field could be put out in a month and a half, maybe sooner. Production could be back on line "in a matter of days" after that, he said. The lack of work so far isn't disturbing the well control companies. "We'd much rather the war end quickly with no problems," said Miller. "There's plenty of work around here for us." -By Roy R. Reynolds, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9208; roy.reynolds@dowjones.com Updated March 24, 2003 3:13 p.m.

To: ayn rand who wrote (11408)	3/25/2003 4:35:38 PM
From: afrayem onigwecher	Respond to of 19428

Halliburton gains on Iraq contract By Lisa Sanders, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 3:21 PM ET March 25, 2003 HOUSTON (CBS.MW) -- Shares of Halliburton rose in Tuesday trades after the oil services and engineering and construction giant said that it's been given the go-ahead to deploy a plan to quell oil well fires and rebuild infrastructure in Iraq. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the contract to Kellogg, Brown & Root -- a division of Halliburton. Vice President Dick Cheney ran Halliburton as chairman and chief executive before resigning to become President George Bush's running mate. At a briefing Tuesday afternoon, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer deflected a question about whether the KBR contract posed a potential conflict of interest given Cheney's ties to Halliburton. Fleischer said questions about the bid process should be directed to the agency that awarded the contract. Spokespeople for the Corps weren't immediately available. "KBR was selected for this award based on the fact that KBR was the only contractor that could commence implementing the complex contingency plan on extremely short notice," the company said in a statement. "This contract will be used for an interim period, until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers procures additional contracts to provide a broad range of services required to support full execution of contingency plan." KBR said it would work in conjunction with Halliburton's Energy Services Group. Halliburton had already developed the contingency plan at the request of the Defense Department in November 2002. Analysts had predicted some time ago that U.S. service companies stood to gain in a post-conflict Iraq because of their leading positions in oilfield technology. Not only are a handful of Iraqi oil wells ablaze and need rebuilding, the entire oil infrastructure has been neglected for years and requires an overhaul. See previous story. Halliburton's (HAL: news, chart) stock rose 2.4 percent to $20.60 in recent dealings. Volume neared 2 million shares by midday. KBR subcontracted the firefighting portion of the work to Boots & Coots (WEL: news, chart) and Wild Well Control. Boots & Coots rose by 12.7 percent to $1.24 on volume of 65.2 million. Peter Zeihan, energy analyst at the intelligence-consulting firm Stratfor, said Boots & Coots confirmed to Stratfor Tuesday that it had been in Iraq for a month. A spokesperson for Boots & Coots was not immediately available. Boots & Coots "had been quiet on everything until today," Zeihan said, noting that it's unlikely the company would have been on the ground in Iraq without Halliburton's help. "Halliburton usually plays a coordinating role with multiple subcontractors," Zeihan said. "They're a firm that excels at getting things done. Halliburton was willing to bet there was going to be some damage and willing to take a loss if that damage didn't happen. They're looking at the bigger picture. They want to be the dominant company in building Iraq and they've shown they can do a great job at it." Responding to questions about the U.S. government contract, Halliburton spokesperson Wendy Hall said the company won't divulge details of the orders. That includes the potential revenue impact to Halliburton. "The...contract is limited to task orders under the contract for only those services which are necessary to support the mission in the near-term," Hall said. "We have been contracted for the onset of work. Currently, all well fires should be extinguished within 240 days, and we cannot speculate on future requirements." Zeihan noted that Halliburton has taken a leading role in helping Russia boost its production capabilities. As a result, Russia has upped its production output by 800,000 barrels a day in each of the last two years. In 1991, KBR was able to extinguish 90 percent of the fires in Kuwait within one year, though the project had an 18-month schedule, the company said. Halliburton has been contracting with the U.S. government for more than 60 years, Hall said. Lisa Sanders is a Dallas-based reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com.