Halliburton sees an unlikely material impact of cyber attacks

Halliburton Co., the world’s largest provider of fracking services, said a recent cybersecurity attack that disrupted its business is unlikely to significantly affect its finances or operations.

The Houston-based company continues to assess the nature and extent of the breach and has activated its cybersecurity response plan, it said in a statement Tuesday. It initially disclosed the attack last month and notified law enforcement authorities.

Halliburton said it proactively took some systems offline to protect them and believes hackers removed information from its systems, according to the statement. Its shares fell as much as 4.2 percent in New York on Tuesday to $29.79, their lowest intraday price in 15 months, amid lower oil prices.

“The incident caused disruptions and limited access to portions of the Company’s business applications that support aspects of the Company’s operations and corporate functions,” the statement said. Halliburton added that it “has incurred and may continue to incur certain expenses related to its response to this incident.”

Chief Executive Jeff Miller is scheduled to kick off the Barclays Energy-Power CEO Conference in New York on Tuesday afternoon and is likely to answer investors’ questions about the incident. The company is facing the onslaught as the oil industry increasingly relies on digital technologies to drill more efficiently.

Halliburton, which helps oil explorers around the world identify underground pockets of crude oil and complete new wells, said it had communicated with customers and other stakeholders about the attack.

“The company continues to provide its products and services to customers globally,” the company said in its statement.

Top photo: Halliburton Co. storage tanks. from Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

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