Halliburton adds more than 100 jobs in Brownfield, still hiring
Brownfield residents have excitedly watched the new Halliburton facility take shape in recent months and that excitement is matched by high-ranking administrators within the world-wide oilfield services giant.
David Prather, Southern Region Operations Manager for Halliburton, told the Brownfield News in an exclusive interview Monday morning that the company has added as many as 114 new jobs to its local headquarters.
Halliburton currently employs 252 people in Brownfield, about 100 more than was reported a year ago.
Prather said two fracking crews have been moved to this location from its yard in Hobbs, NM.
Dozens of the oilfield company’s signature red trucks are lined up on the site and an employee parking lot routinely fills during the day.
Halliburton currently is looking to hire almost a dozen mechanics to work in the new shop.
Prather said building the new facility just north of Brownfield has “been one of our best experiences around the country.”
“We are Brownfield fans,” he said of Halliburton, one of the world’s largest companies. “I use your City as an example of pre-planning and communication and a community working with us. I just can’t say enough about how well your City has worked with us.”
A drive past the new Halliburton facility offers instant verification that the oilfield giant is moving forward with its significant investment on the 100-acre tract in Hogue Industrial Park.
A huge building with multiple large doors sits at the center of the site, a massive vertical storage tank and acres of concrete are in place; all evidence of a total investment thus far of more than $11 million.
Prather said Halliburton executives are excited about the new location.
“Our old facility served us well for many years, but with things changing and equipment changing size and shape, we needed something different,” he said. “Brownfield opened up that industrial park and it really fit us very well and segued right with what we needed to get done.”
And there’s more on the way.
Plumbing, foundations, and steel framing for additional buildings is visible from the adjacent roadways and dirt work continues around the site.
Prather confirmed that a wash plant is under construction and slated for completion mid-summer, while an acid rack will be finished north of that building this fall or early next year.
An eight-acre holding pond currently stands empty and plans for several rail spurs are on hold while the company monitors the oil and gas economy, currently suffering through a sluggish downturn.
“The market has slowed the project just a little bit, but we are still moving forward,” he said. “Our old facility there in Brownfield was to a point where we had to decide to either abandon it or build new and we chose to remain part of that community. It’s exciting to work with a new shop.
We have moved a field service quality employee in there to oversee things and I’m looking forward to a trip out there soon to see how it all looks in person.”
Brownfield Industrial Development Corp. director David Partlow welcomed Halliburton’s optimistic plans for the city.
“That company is vital to our local economy and we feel privileged that they chose to not only stay in Brownfield, but to grow here and make us an important strategic location in their regional logistics,” he said. “From an economic impact standpoint, it’s hard to even calculate how much they mean to Brownfield. They are one of our largest employers and they have a global reach, which will draw the attention of other businesses who want to work with them and near them. That facility will pay dividends for us for decades.”
