BP Slams Halliburton for Destroying Gulf Spill Evidence
On Monday British energy giant, BP, accused Halliburton in a New Orleans federal court of having intentionally destroyed evidence relating to the explosion of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico producing the world oil disaster in U.S. history.
The accusation was filed by BP as part of a lawsuit aimed to impose sanctions on Halliburton Energy Services. Halliburton was a contractor for BP on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11 people and spilling more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
PHOTO: Deepwater Horizon prior to its explosion.
According to the court papers, BP is alleging that Halliburton destroyed evidence not disclosing computer modeling results of the Macondo well, as well as destroying evidence related to its nonprivileged cement testing. CNN quoted the document as stating the following, “Halliburton has steadfastly refused to provide these critical testing and modeling results in discovery. Halliburton's refusal has been unwavering, despite repeated BP discovery requests and a specific order from this Court.” The BP documents state that employees of Halliburton have testified under oath about the destruction of evidence that analyzed the stability of a similar cement mixture that was utilized in the Macondo well.
The BP accusation rests on the postulation that the quality of the cement slurry that went into drilling the oil well was not up to par. In order for an oil well to avoid blowouts, it must be properly cemented. The final federal report from BOEMRE held all three companies involved with the rig (BP, Transocean, and Halliburton) responsible for offshore safety violations, and concluded that a key cause for the explosion was a defunct cement drilling barrier at the well.
PHOTO: Platform supply vessels battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon
According to AFP reports, a spokeswoman for Halliburton said they are reviewing the motion, but believe the allegations raised by BP have no merit.
Since last year, BP, Halliburton, and Transocean, have been engaged in legal battles. BP was cited for seven violations, and Transocean and Halliburton for four.
The trial has been set for February at the federal court in New Orleans.