Halliburton Says Court Approves Insurance Accords
Date: 01-Dec-04
Country: USA
The Houston oil field services company said the settlements resolve the debtors' insurance disputes and will result in more than $1.5 billion in cash to be paid from a trust for the claims.
Halliburton said it expects the settlements will help to end the bankruptcy case by the end of this year.
"This is clearly one of the concluding steps toward permanently resolving our asbestos and silica liability that will provide payments to the impaired claimants," Dave Lesar, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Halliburton, said in a statement.
The two Halliburton subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in December 2003 to facilitate the resolution of asbestos liabilities, which had been a drag on Halliburton in recent years.
Most of the claims regarding exposure to asbestos and silica stemmed from Halliburton's acquisition of DII, formerly Dresser Industries, which the company bought in the 1990s when Halliburton was led by US Vice President Dick Cheney.
