Halliburton 2015 Annual Report Download - page 19

2
See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Business Environment and
Results of Operations” and Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements for additional financial information about our
geographic operations in the last three years. Because the markets for our services and products are vast and cross numerous
geographic lines, it is not practicable to provide a meaningful estimate of the total number of our competitors. The industries we
serve are highly competitive, and we have many substantial competitors. Most of our services and products are marketed
through our servicing and sales organizations.
Operations in some countries may be adversely affected by unsettled political conditions, acts of terrorism, civil
unrest, expropriation or other governmental actions, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, foreign currency exchange
restrictions, and highly inflationary currencies, as well as other geopolitical factors. We believe the geographic diversification
of our business activities reduces the risk that loss of operations in any one country, other than the United States, would
significantly impact the conduct of our operations taken as a whole.
Information regarding our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations, risk concentration, and financial instruments used
to minimize risk is included in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations –
Financial Instrument Market Risk” and in Note 14 to the consolidated financial statements.
Customers
Our revenue from continuing operations during the past three years was derived from the sale of services and products
to the energy industry. No customer represented more than 10% of our consolidated revenue in any period presented.
Raw materials
Raw materials essential to our business are normally readily available. Market conditions can trigger constraints in the
supply of certain raw materials, such as proppants, hydrochloric acid, and gels, including guar gum (a blending additive used in
our hydraulic fracturing process). We are always seeking ways to ensure the availability of resources, as well as manage costs
of raw materials. Our procurement department uses our size and buying power to enhance our access to key materials at
competitive prices.
Research and development costs
We maintain an active research and development program. The program improves products, processes, and
engineering standards and practices that serve the changing needs of our customers, such as those related to high pressure and
high temperature environments, and also develops new products and processes. Our expenditures for research and development
activities were $487 million in 2015, $601 million in 2014, and $588 million in 2013. We sponsored over 95% of these
expenditures in each year.
Patents
We own a large number of patents and have pending a substantial number of patent applications covering various
products and processes. We are also licensed to utilize technology covered by patents owned by others, and we license others to
utilize technology covered by our patents. We do not consider any particular patent to be material to our business operations.
Seasonality
Weather and natural phenomena can temporarily affect the performance of our services, but the widespread
geographical locations of our operations mitigate those effects. Examples of how weather can impact our business include:
- the severity and duration of the winter in North America can have a significant impact on natural gas storage levels
and drilling activity;
- the timing and duration of the spring thaw in Canada directly affects activity levels due to road restrictions;
- typhoons and hurricanes can disrupt coastal and offshore operations; and
- severe weather during the winter months normally results in reduced activity levels in the North Sea and Russia.
Additionally, customer spending patterns for software and various other oilfield services and products can typically
result in higher activity in the fourth quarter of the year.
Employees
At December 31, 2015, we employed approximately 65,000 people worldwide compared to more than 80,000 at
December 31, 2014. At December 31, 2015, approximately 17% of our employees were subject to collective bargaining
agreements. Based upon the geographic diversification of these employees, we do not believe any risk of loss from employee
strikes or other collective actions would be material to the conduct of our operations taken as a whole.
Environmental regulation
We are subject to numerous environmental, legal, and regulatory requirements related to our operations worldwide.
For further information related to environmental matters and regulation, see Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements and
Item 1(a), “Risk Factors.”
Hydraulic fracturing process
Hydraulic fracturing is a process that creates fractures extending from the well bore into the rock formation to enable
natural gas or oil to move more easily from the rock pores to a production conduit. A significant portion of our Completion and
Production segment provides hydraulic fracturing services to customers developing shale natural gas and shale oil. From time
to time, questions arise about the scope of our operations in the shale natural gas and shale oil sectors, and the extent to which
these operations may affect human health and the environment.