Halliburton says it lost $18 million in the first quarter,
pulled down by $637 million in charges related to its role in the 2010 Gulf of
Mexico oil spill.
The oil services company's loss amounted to 2 cents per share.
That compares with net income of $627 million, or 68 cents per share, a year
earlier.
Halliburton, which is in talks to settle claims against it
related to the oil spill, said that excluding the charges it posted adjusted
earnings of 67 cents per share. That beat the 57 cents that analysts expected.
The Houston company, which provides a variety of services for
the petroleum industry, is benefiting from a boom in U.S. oil production, which
is at the highest level in more than two decades. At the same time,
Halliburton's natural gas business has slowed as drillers slowed production due
to falling prices for the fuel.
Halliburton provided cementing services for BP PLC on the failed
Macondo well in 2010. The two sides continue to spar over responsibility for
the disaster. BP acknowledges it made mistakes that led to the blowout, but the
company denies it was grossly negligent and argues Halliburton also must
shoulder blame for the catastrophe. Halliburton maintains that BP, as the
well's owner, is responsible for the blowout that created the worst offshore
oil spill in U.S. history.
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