Halliburton advances asbestos accord

The Houston-based oilfield services and construction company said the pre-negotiated Chapter 11 filings won't affect normal operations of subsidiaries DII Industries, Kellogg, Brown & Root, and others.

The parent company and KBR's government services business, which provides services in Iraq, are not part of the bankruptcy.

Last week, most of the claimants in more than 370,000 asbestos claims against Halliburton voted in favor of the proposed reorganization plans. The company will discuss the Chapter 11 proceedings in a conference call today.

"The reorganization plan provides permanent and final resolution of Halliburton's asbestos issues," said spokeswoman Wendy Hall.

"It is important to note that none of KBR and the Halliburton companies are going out of business and that this reorganization will have no impact on any of our present or future projects."

A year ago, Halliburton agreed to settle the claims for about $4 billion in cash and stock.

Halliburton, once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, inherited most of the claims four years ago when the conglomerate, under Cheney's leadership, acquired Dresser Industries Inc. for $7.7 billion.

Cheney left the company in 2000 to be George W. Bush's running mate.

The bankruptcy was filed in Pittsburgh because most of the asbestos claims were filed against a former Dresser subsidiary, Pittsburgh-based Harbison-Walker Refractories Co.

That company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year.

Shares of Halliburton rose 48 cents at $25.14 on the New York Stock Exchange.