Inside Giant Energy Company Halliburton
H O U S T O N, May 4, 2004 -- Halliburton, the giant American energy company, is deeply involved with U.S. operations in Iraq. The company and its subsidiaries attract interest and criticism because it was once run by Vice President Dick Cheney and has been accused of business irregularities that benefit the company at the taxpayer's expense.
The company, founded 85 years ago, has 103,000 employees on oil, gas and construction projects in 120 countries.
"We are building a road in Ireland," Halliburton CEO David Lesar told ABCNEWS. "We are running a railroad in Australia. We are drilling for gas in the Rocky Mountains to bring more gas supplies to the U.S. We are drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. We are building ships in Brazil. We are about 100,000 people doing things on a day-to-day basis."
Halliburton built Camp Delta to house suspected terrorist at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and it provides many other infrastructural services to the U.S. military — 24,000 Halliburton employees work in Iraq alone.
The danger in Iraq notwithstanding, hundreds of people from all over the country looking for work — or work that pays better — are being prepared to go to Iraq to work for Halliburton.
"We have 100,000 people that have applied for our jobs," said Lesar. "That is our backlog today. We are still sending 300 or 400 a week."
They are employed as construction bosses, electricians, plumbers and cooks. Many former military men and women who were out of work are finding new employment as private contractors.
"I'm looking for capital to start my own business, and this is a good way to get it," said one Halliburton job applicant.
Dangers of Working in Iraq
In Iraq, the military has farmed out everything from base construction to food preparation and laundry washing. Halliburton supplies workers who deliver the mail, fix the trucks, and even drive them.
Halliburton jobs in Iraq pay annual salaries of $80,000 after taxes, sometimes more. Thomas Hamill, who escaped from his Iraqi captors this week after being kidnapped, was a private contractor who worked for Halliburton.
Hamill's story is a constant reminder for Lesar of how dangerous Iraq can be for Halliburton employees. To date, 34 Halliburton employees have been killed since the beginning of the Iraq war.
"We have had a number of employees killed in Iraq. We have had a number wounded. And we still have two missing," he said. "So the fact that Thomas is back is great news and is something that is good for his family and good for the Halliburton family. But we also have two people missing and our thoughts and prayers are with them."
The Pentagon hired Halliburton to restore the Iraqi oil industry without any competitive bidding. The vice president was Halliburton's last CEO, so needless to say, the company has received a lot of unwanted attention.
Lesar, however, thinks the controversy is politically motivated.
"I think a lot of that has to do with politics," he said. "The fact that the VP of the United States used to sit in the chair that I sit in, as the CEO of Halliburton — I can't change the fact that he used to have my job. My job is to look forward. It's to get the facts out so people can understand what we're about as a company. And we get this work because we're good at it."
The company is the subject of several investigations, including one by the Pentagon, for overcharging the government.
Halliburton worries that the controversy may be bad for business. But the company's chief said whatever happens, it is in Iraq for the duration.
"We signed on for a mission to support the military," Lesar said. "It is certainly a risky mission, as is evidenced by the people that have been killed and wounded. Those are obviously very unfortunate events. The culture of Halliburton has always been a company that runs toward trouble — runs toward supporting the military and not away from it. And our people are absolutely committed to that."