Halliburton defends itself against BP oil spill claims
Halliburton responded Wednesday to recent court filings by BP, which accused it of destroying unfavorable results from tests on cement used to plug the leaking well in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Halliburton’s comments are as follows:
“BP recently filed a motion for sanctions against Halliburton alleging that Halliburton destroyed evidence relating to post-incident testing of the foam cement slurry. BP has been aware of post-incident tests for some time, but has chosen this late date in the litigation to mischaracterize the results of such tests.
“Contrary to BP’s assertions, the post-incident testing referred to in its motion was not conducted on rig samples or in a manner approved by Halliburton. Rather, the informal testing BP refers to used off-the-shelf materials that yielded results which Halliburton believes have little or no relevance to the case, particularly when pre-incident testing using rig samples and formal lab processes showed that the cement slurry was designed to be stable.
“In September 2011, the US Department of Interior reported testing done on the actual Deepwater Horizon rig sample, confirming Halliburton's position that the slurry was designed to be stable. The Department further concluded that the cement likely did not fail in the annulus part of the well.
“For over 60 years, Halliburton has led the industry in developing cementing solutions for oil and gas operators around the world. BP is attempting to divert attention from its poor decisions and practices by criticizing the work and reputation of Halliburton.”
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