They Told Me That If I Voted For John McCain, Halliburton Would Get Rich Off Of Government Contracts. . . And They Were Right!

Government approved at least. And those headlines never get old.

Halliburton Co. said Monday that it has been contracted by Exxon Mobil Corp. to use three drilling rigs to provide oil drilling services at a large field under development in southern Iraq.

The contract from ExxonMobil Iraq Ltd. covers services for 15 wells at the 8.6 billion-barrel West Qurna Phase I oil field, one of Iraq's largest. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Exxon's partners in the Qurna project include two Iraqi state-owned companies and an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell PLC. ExxonMobil Iraq is the lead contractor on the field, with a 60 percent stake. It said last month that initial field production at the Qurna I field increased 17 percent to 285,000 barrels per day, exceeding its 10 percent improvement target. Under an agreement between Iraq and the companies, production from the West Qurna I field should reach 2.825 million barrels a day after 6 to 7 years.

Shares of Houston-based Halliburton rose 8 cents to $48.21 in morning trading.