Halliburton will shift some 70 percent of its capital investment over the next five years to the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes oil and gas zones in the Middle East, Russia, Africa, the North Sea and East Asia, the company‘s chief said Tuesday from his new headquarters in Dubai.

"Halliburton is committed to this part of the world," Lesar told a group of Dubai-based reporters.

"We‘re looking for as many young Arab and Asian engineers, technicians and professionals to come and join our organization," Lesar said while swigging a Coke in a swanky hotel meeting room.

Lesar said his goal was to achieve a 50-50 split between Halliburton‘s business in the Western Hemisphere and the booming new markets in the Eastern Hemisphere, primarily the Mideast. Currently, 65 percent of Halliburton‘s business and as much as 70 percent of its capital spending is in North and South America.

Lesar said the company was relieved to have shed prickly relationships that brought unwanted scrutiny. In April, Halliburton completed the sell-off of its KBR construction and services unit, which has been under fire for overcharging the U.S. military in Iraq .



With KBR gone, Halliburton has no current business in Iraq. But Lesar said Halliburton would look to partner with oil firms doing exploration in Iraq once an investment law is in place.

Also in April, Halliburton stopped work in Iran , where a Dubai-based Halliburton subsidiary operated for years. Lesar said the company wasn‘t taking any more Iran business.

And, in a year and a half, the company‘s much-discussed ties to the Bush administration will end when Bush leaves office. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was Halliburton‘s previous chief executive.

Lesar arrived in Dubai on Saturday to begin his stewardship of the company from this Persian Gulf boomtown, home to dozens of international banks and corporations, including U.S. giants like General Electric, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and Citibank. Halliburton is the first major western corporation to move its chief executive here.

Halliburton‘s remaining top executives will probably stay in Houston, although the company plans to hold some of its board meetings in Dubai, Lesar said.

"This isn‘t a giant transplant from Houston to Dubai," Lesar said. "I don‘t see the need to have my senior executives sitting 10 feet from me."

Halliburton will continue to pay U.S. taxes on its global earnings, although Lesar and other Americans may have personal tax savings from working in tax-free Dubai and the company could save on capital purchases made here.