Bankruptcy Court Approves Halliburton Asbestos Insurance Settlement Agreements

Houston’s Halliburton announced that settlement agreements involving asbestos claims were approved on November 18, 2004 and November 29, 2004, by the Honorable Judith K. Fitzgerald, concerning asbestos related claims against DII Industries, Kellogg Brown & Root and other affected Halliburton subsidiaries and all appealing insurance carriers.

“These settlements, together with other previously announced insurance settlements, provide a global resolution to the debtors’ insurance disputes which will result in the receipt of over $1.5 billion in cash and permit the successful conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings,” said the announcement.

It also noted that the agreements involved settlements with “over one hundred solvent and insolvent London-based insurance companies, over fifty domestic insurance companies and other companies with which DII Industries shares insurance coverage.

“Two of the settlement agreements involve matters relevant to Harbison-Walker Refractories Company and Federal-Mogul Products, Inc., both debtors in their own bankruptcy proceedings, and the Bankruptcy Courts in those proceedings also have entered orders approving these settlements.”

“Halliburton’s employees, customers and shareholders are celebrating this positive news. This is clearly one of the concluding steps toward permanently resolving our asbestos and silica liability that will provide payments to the impaired claimants,” stated Dave Lesar, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Halliburton. “As final settlement agreements have been reached, we are delighted to bring closure to this issue.”

The bulletin noted: “The Bankruptcy Court’s approval orders are now final and the settling insurers are obligated immediately to dismiss their appeals to the Bankruptcy Court’s confirmation order and their motion to vacate the District Court’s affirmation order. The company anticipates concluding the bankruptcy by year- end, and funding of the trusts by the end of January 2005.”