Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Halliburton cement the focus of oil spill investigation

Although Halliburton tests showed that a cement mixture was unstable, it was used on the BP Macondo well regardless. Defective Halliburton cement has been named as a primary culprit within the chain of events that led to the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010. Shortcuts by Halliburton through the cementing job have been confirmed by the oil spill commission and may lead to criminal prosecution. Article resource – Halliburton cementing job investigated by oil spill commission by Personal Money Store.

Halliburton already knew about the unstable cement

Halliburton’s decision to use the unstable cement is one of the first conclusions drawn by the commission investigating the cause of the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The Associated Press reports that its finding conflicts with earlier claims made by Halliburton that tests showed the cement mixture was stable. The disaster has caused companies to start blaming each other one an additional. Halliburton and BP are two of these companies. The argument BP has given has always been the exact same. The only reason oil and gas weren't stopped from leaving the Macondo well had been since the oil mixture wasn't good. Halliburton said BP’s well design and drilling operation were responsible.

Stop oil blowouts only with the cement

In order to reach the oil under the ocean floor, the cement mixture has to be used to secure a metal casing around pipes and the drill bit. This is the cement that the oil spill commission is investigating. The cement is also supposed to keep oil and gas from blowing out the well. 13,000 feet under the ocean floor is the Macondo well section that Halliburton put cement on. BP chose to let Halliburton as it recommended the cement, reports the Los Angeles Times. Mixing the cement mixture together is a hit and miss process. This is why testing it to view its stability throughout is essential.

Halliburton continues with many failed tests

The Halliburton cement recipe had been something the oil spill commission wanted to test. The Chevron laboratory got samples for testing as a result of this. The New York Times reports the Halliburton mixture failed all nine stability tests intended to mimic conditions at the BP well. As a result of this, the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has data that "strongly suggests" that Halliburton cement was part of the problem the commission said. The disaster didn't take out all of the cement on the Macondo well. A little bit is being kept as evidence for when the criminal investigation needs it.

Citations

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5igahXC3SkTTf2b4nKNp9VZuv6Mew?docId=505ad7273f504a769b2da63b5fb4332

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Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-naw-deepwater-cement-20101028,0,2151247.story

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/10/29/us/29spill.html?src=me



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