"Excited about the opportunities." Halliburton awaits the US "go-ahead" to return to Venezuela
Photo: Halliburton / Facebook

The American oilfield services corporation Halliburton is ready to promptly resume operations in Venezuela as soon as it receives approval from the US government and certain guarantees regarding payments. This was stated by the company's CEO Jeff Miller, as quoted by Western news agencies, in particularReuters andBloomberg.

"I'm very excited about the huge opportunities for Halliburton in Venezuela. We can mobilize in a matter of weeks. I'm confident we can move pretty quickly once opportunities arise," Miller told investors during a conference call on Wednesday after the release of financial results.

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The company is working on obtaining licenses from the U.S. that will allow it to operate in Venezuela, he added.

According to Miller, Halliburton can deliver the equipment to Venezuela quickly, and putting it into operation would be fairly straightforward.

"We're evaluating what we would do and where we would start (in Venezuela). My phone is blowing up with calls from people interested in Halliburton's presence in Venezuela, and I'm confident that we can move forward on that fairly quickly, and I'm very excited about that," Miller said.

The head of Halliburton noted that the Venezuelan market is small now, compared to what it brought the company half a billion dollars about ten years ago.

Reference
Halliburton Company –An American international oilfield services corporation, one of the largest in the world in the oil and gas services sector. It specializes in technologies and services that help oil companies drill, evaluate, operate, and develop oil and gas fields.
The company operates globally and has a significant presence in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Due to changing political conditions, it sometimes suspends operations in certain countries (for example, due to sanctions in Venezuela), but maintains a global influence in the sector.

According to Miller, Latin America will be the driver of international growth for the oilfield services sector this year, particularly thanks to Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and Guyana.

In 2020, Halliburton wrote off all remaining investments in Venezuela due to the curtailment of operations caused by US sanctions. The global contractor reported that by the end of the year it no longer had employees in the country, but retained a local legal entity, as well as facilities and equipment.

Miller's comments came after the company published Adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 69 cents per share were 15 cents higher than analysts expected. Halliburton's main competitor, SLB (formerly Schlumberger), is scheduled to release its results on Friday.

  • Halliburton was among the oil companies that met with White House officials earlier this year to discuss potential investments in Venezuela after the US overthrew the presidentNicolás Maduro in early January.
  • The company also began seeking resumes for a number of positions in Venezuela, including engineers and technicians, according to a January 16 job posting, indicating a possible return to the Bolivarian Republic.