Gulf Spill Halliburton: Company Worked On Rig 20 Hours Before Explosion

WASHINGTON — Oil services contractor Halliburton Inc. says it safely finished a cementing operation 20 hours before a Gulf of Mexico rig went up in flames. In testimony prepared for a congressional hearing Tuesday, Halliburton says it completed work on the well according to accepted industry practice and federal regulators.

Halliburton executive Tim Probert says a pressure test was conducted after the work was finished, and the well owner decided to continue. A copy of the testimony was obtained by The Associated Press.

The cause of the April 20 explosion is under investigation, but lawsuits filed after the disaster claim it was caused when Halliburton workers improperly capped the well – a process known as cementing. Halliburton denies wrongdoing.

Comments

[jamejame]

04:28 PM on 06/05/2010

Wait, haven't I heard this name "Halliburton" somewhere before? Weren't they up to no good then, too?
I think the title of this article is accusatory without coming right out and saying it...the author believes Halliburton blew the rig.

[my3bucks]

02:44 PM on 05/26/2010

Liked your piece...and another story for you....why is there NO media coverage linking this story http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/energy/halliburton-buy-boots--coots/, reported widely in the days before the 'spill', and the fact that Halliburton was the company that cemented the sub-par plug?

Could it be that Rupurt Murdoch, who owns most U.S. news, is invested in Halliburton? Just follow the money! Hope you'll cover, it's a good'un.

[TruEngineHearing]

09:17 AM on 05/12/2010

Who gave them permission to punch a hole in the earth's crust - with no disaster plan?? Those are the folks we need to hunt down.

"...lawsuits filed after the disaster claim it was caused when Halliburton workers improperly capped the well – a process known as cementing. Halliburton denies wrongdoing."

This would be an Aha! moment - with all it's pleasures - if it didn't feel sickeningly like the first move in the final, awful act of something humongous. If we survive this event, the entire proposition of greed and humanity living together successfully must never be accepted whole again - "there are people walkin' here..."

[wassilij]

05:26 AM on 05/12/2010

Whats needed is a corporate death penalty.......If any corporation like BP or Halburton causes a disaster to occur.....The entire corporation including all assets are dismantled and all assets liquidated to pay for the cleanup and economic losses felt by those whose livelihoods they have destroyed.........making it RETROACTIVE!!!.......NO more Halburton...or BP or whatever CORPORATIONS were involved!!!
Not a single one of these Rat B@stards could man up and take responsibility for this disaster that has ruined the entire southern coast of the US...How much longer are WE the people going to allow these CORPORATIONS to destroy our life support system?.......DESTROY THESE CORPORATIONS....Starting NOW !!....No second chances....no 75 mile limit BS,,,,
If this was the policy from the beginning....Safety measures and plans ABC and D would be in place.....the only plan they had was called GREED
.......One coast down ......Two to Go.....Are you willing to take that risk? Make them pay...with a CORPORATE DEATH PENALTY!!!....RETROACTIVE!!

[research]

06:00 PM on 05/11/2010

Haliburton does the wet work....

[Debbie338]

05:53 PM on 05/11/2010

Haliburton has single-handedly made me a conspiracy theorist. I think their stinkin' mitts are in everything.

[unionave]

02:42 PM on 05/11/2010

Bribery of officials is a criminal offence in all parts of our government except in our Congresses . Our Federal , State , and local law makers are all legally accepting money to make laws that favor the the highest bidder for their attention . The whole system is designed purposely to promote bribery and as long as Big money has money it will continue to be that way . Unless we the electorate unite and vote together with the same intentions . That is what Big money fears the most . That is why Big money pays the likes of Rush , Hannity , Glenn , etc. to spew rhetoric that divides the electorate . Big money does not want any unification of the people in any form . The word most pronounced with negative connotations by Big money is "union" .

[enlightenedgirl]

12:41 PM on 05/11/2010

I know, I know, just because I hate everything Haliburton stands for doesn't mean anything was done with intention. But it still doesn't excuse the shoddy work this company has a record of complicity in. From our troops being electrocuted in the shower due to bad wiring to tainted water, Haliburton is one bad company and it should be dismantled.

Call the company another name if you want, it all comes down to incompetence with government contracts coming out of the wazoo. They should not be in business any longer with the track record they have and if it weren't for the government contracts awarded by Bush and Cheney they would be.

[research]

06:05 PM on 05/11/2010

Really!

Corporations are persons,

Haliburton deserves prison.

[no2statquo]

12:00 PM on 05/11/2010

This should say it all. For 8-years during the previous administration there were way too many conspiracy theories floating around, and this is just another example of the possible nonsense going on. While it may be far fetched to be true, it certainly speaks volume to my hears. I for one am one whose noticed all to many conspiracy theories in all the walks of my days. However, since most of the time nothing can be proven, I've just chalked it up to the hands I've been dealt... and in this and all other public cases, "the life and times we live in".

[Realityism]

11:28 AM on 05/11/2010

I came to this article to see if there were any insane suggestions that Cheney had the oil rig blown up intentionally to undermine Obama.

Commenters, you did not disappoint.

[enlightenedgirl]

12:42 PM on 05/11/2010

everyone has a right to an opinion

[research]

06:02 PM on 05/11/2010

several other gas rigs blew out right after Haliburton did the cementing.

And the price of oil is UP.

How many people does Halibruton have to kill before you get it?

meanwhile ACORN lost it's funding based on lies.....

[jatu707]

10:15 AM on 05/11/2010

Ok I'm usually not a conspiracy theorist, but this is a bit shady. There are definitely powerful people/oil interests worldwide who may have been a little worried about Obama's plan for more drilling off-shore thus possibly lowering the price and the US becoming more self-sufficient. With the sudden (massive) negative sway in public opinion over off-shore drilling, this could have been a great business move to stop that plan in its tracks.
And yes, I know I'm reaching here but nothing surprises me anymore.

[rfshunt]

10:42 AM on 05/11/2010

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

[Telemachus]

10:49 AM on 05/11/2010

Totally fanned! That's my favorite aphorism.

[jatu707]

12:02 PM on 05/11/2010

Haha. Well said.

[Sumocat]

10:02 AM on 05/11/2010

Okay Halliburton, have it your way. If this work was done in accordance with federal regulations, then I expect your support as we push much stricter regulations. Thank you in advance for your support of a full clampdown on offshore drilling activities.

[FACTISFACT]

09:59 AM on 05/11/2010

None in the world would accept the denial version of this Halliburton Company as this is not the first time this criminal doing by this company. The best punishment for this company would be as suggested by the scientist of oceanographic is to seize all the movable and immovable company's properties and send the employees and officials for life imprisonment for such a sabotage work.

The Political Analysts opined any less punishment will not be commensurate to the offense committed and damage done.

The investigation should go deep to the matter to fish out each and every god father big and small who were behind this sabotage activity. As the saboteurs cannot be American citizen but dangerous enemy of the country, therefore they don't deserve any mercy as no terrorist deserve any mercy also.

[quillsinister]

09:51 AM on 05/11/2010

So what they're saying is that the ecoterrorists who sabotaged the oil rig had to infiltrate Halliburton first? This is similar to their tactic of discrediting coal by fighting the safety measures that might have prevented the recent mining accidents.

The IPCC is behind all of this somehow. Diabolical!

;-)

[rfshunt]

11:22 AM on 05/11/2010

Don't forget ACORN. Every good w/ngnut knows that ACORN is *always* involved somehow.

:)

[quillsinister]

03:22 PM on 05/11/2010

Exactly! Of course, ever since he faked his own death, Saul Alinsky has been coordinating the efforts of all these groups from his hidden volcano fortress. :-D

[Archivist1000]

09:31 AM on 05/11/2010

Something to remember here:

Several years ago, Halliburton moved its HQ to Dubai.

This was at the time the Halliburton was raking in MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars, from no bid contracts. They either didn't perform or performed badly, but the contracts kept coming.

With HQ in Dubai, this sheltered Halliburton from a lot, not the least of which is the taxes they didn't have to pay to the USA on the profits they made from those no-bid contracts ...

Will be interesting to see if this move ALSO shelters them from litigation in some way.

Dick Cheney used his position as VP to screw American taxpayers.

[yemaya]

10:06 AM on 05/11/2010

I would say billions instead of millions. I really do hope they don't get away w/this. But then again it took Exxon 20 years to clean up their mess and they fought it all they way.

I hope the young folks out there go see the oceans in their lifetimes before they are all gone! I for one am lucky to have grown up in So. Fl where I got to dive and snorkel throughout my childhood. I am thankful for that. For the younger generation, the fight to save their planet will be non stop. I feel as though the generation before them dropped the ball on this one. sad

[research]

06:04 PM on 05/11/2010

Enron never cleaned up, and they got a judge to reduce the claims.

[SweetJudith]

12:25 PM on 05/11/2010

Cheney was born a crook!!!