Halliburton Profit Rises as Oil Prices Boost Demand

Halliburton Co., the world’s second-largest oilfield services provider, said profit more than doubled as higher crude prices boosted demand for drilling equipment in North America.

Halliburton’s North American sales, its largest source of revenue, rose 83 percent to $2.63 billion in the fourth quarter, overcoming a loss from its Gulf of Mexico operations, according to a company statement today. Recovery in the number of rigs operating in the Gulf after BP Plc’s oil spill is “uncertain” this year, the Houston-based company said.