Halliburton Not Notified On Contract Ban In Nigeria: Spokeswoman

WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (AFP) - US company Halliburton said Nigeria has not notified it about its decision to place an embargo on awarding government contracts to the oil services giant's subsidiary in the west African country.
"We have only read this in media reports and have not received any (notification) from the Nigerian government," a Halliburton spokeswoman told AFP.
Nigeria accused the subsidiary of negligence in security and safety matters and froze government contracts with the company.
The Nigerian government said in a statement that it had decided "to place an embargo on the patronage of Halliburton Energy Services Nigeria Limited (HENSL) arising from its negligent conduct which led to the loss of two ionizing radioactive sources from Nigeria in 2002."
President Olusegun Obasanjo has approved the ban, the statement said.
"We continue to work with the Nigerian government and are committed to getting this resolved," the Halliburton spokeswoman said. "We are not currently bidding on any new business with the Nigerian government."