Halliburton Co., the world’s second-largest oilfield-services provider, will move its chief executive officer, David Lesar, to a new corporate headquarters in Dubai to help the company expand in the Middle East and Asia.

The move is part of an effort to shift business outside North America, which provided 55% of Halliburton profit last quarter, and to court national oil companies that pump most of the oil in the Middle East. The company will keep a corporate office in Houston, where it has its headquarters today, the company said in a statement.

“Growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton’s overall portfolio,” Mr. Lesar, 53, said in the statement. “This is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities.” Dubai is on the Persian Gulf and is part of the United Arab Emirates, the fourth biggest OPEC crude oil producer.

Concern that lower natural-gas prices in North America may trim profit helped push the stock down about 4.4% in the past year. Rival Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oil services provider, rose 11% in the same period, helped by its emphasis on oil drilling for non-American companies.

North America accounted for $525 million of Halliburton’s $959 million in fourth-quarter profit from oilfield services. In North America, the number of rigs drilling for natural gas in the quarter rose 5.2%. The company continues to be able to raise prices in North America, Mr. Lesar said on a January 26 conference call.