Halliburton faces row on Iran link

By Simon English in New York
First published in money.telegraph 24/03/2003

Halliburton, the oil business run by US vice president Dick Cheney in the 1990s, is facing a confrontation with investors over its operations in Iran.

	Halliburton did business in Iraq during Dick Cheney's tenure as chief executive

Two New York City pension funds have demanded that Halliburton review its businesses in Iran and other nations because of "concerns about corporate ties to states sponsoring terrorist activity".

Halliburton asked the Securities & Exchange Commission, the Wall Street watchdog, for permission to ignore the resolution and so avoid a shareholder vote on the issue. The SEC refused.

William Thompson, the New York finance director who manages the $31 billion pension funds of city police and firefighters, has also asked General Electric and ConocoPhillips to consider their own dealings in Iran and Syria.

Mr Thompson said: "We believe their use of offshore subsidiaries to establish operations with countries that sponsor terrorism violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the law.

"These actions also expose the companies to the prospect of negative publicity, public protests and a loss of consumer confidence, all of which can have a negative impact on shareholder value."

Halliburton says it has "limited" subsidiaries in Iran that are in compliance with US laws. A spokesman said: "We are continuing our discussions with the organisation that filed the proposal and are hopeful we can come to agreement."

Mr Thompson wants the board to set up a committee to at least consider pulling out of Iran.

He intends to put the matter to a shareholder vote, arguing that New York police and firefighters do not want to invest in a company that has operations in a country the US government accuses of supporting terrorism. Both General Electric and ConocoPhillips say their small Iran arms are entirely legal.

Halliburton also did business in Iraq during Mr Cheney's tenure as chief executive, signing contracts worth $73m to sell oil production equipment and spare parts. When questioned in July 2000 Mr Cheney said he wasn't aware of the subsidiaries that traded with Baghdad.

Halliburton specialises in servicing oil fields and is likely to supply much of the equipment to fight fires in Iraqi oil wells at the end of the current war.

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