Halliburton To Boost CapEx

Halliburton HAL, the world's second-largest oil services provider, said it is planning to boost capital spending in 2011 by as much as 20% from 2010's levels as the company searches for growth outside of North America. The Texas-based company is forecasting 2011 spending of $2.5 to $3 billion compared with expected 2010 spending of $1.8 billion to $2.1 billion. The comments were made at Halliburton's analyst meeting today. The company is ramping up in Iraq, where it has won three contracts in the past three months, and expects new oil and gas extraction from shale rock around the world to follow the rampant growth of U.S. shale drilling, Reuters reported. Halliburton said it sees potential in what it views as underserved markets such as India, Libya and Russia. Acquisitions were mentioned as a possible avenue for global growth.