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Time to Drill Down Into Halliburton's Role in Big Oil Spill

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Under pressure from Congress and an inquiring media, Halliburton began a controlled leak of information about its role in the big gulf oil spill today, but things could get quite explosive if they appear to be hiding something.

The WSJ (Russell Gold and Ben Castleman) reported earlier today that Halliburton "didn't respond" to questions about its role in the spill. That's odd, given that, as the Journal reported, an independent expert noted that "the initial likely cause of gas coming to the surface had something to do with the cement," and the fact that Halliburton "was handling the cementing process on the rig."

Picking up on the report, Congressman Henry Waxman sent a letter to Halliburton asking the company to start talking and handing over any relevant documentation.

Perhaps knowing that it couldn't hold out much longer, the firm issued a terse statement this afternoon about the "cementing facts regarding rig incident" , which was hardly illuminating.

The gist:

  • Halliburton performed a variety of services on the rig, including cementing.

  • Halliburton had four employees stationed on the rig at the time of the accident. All four were rescued by the Coast Guard.

  • Halliburton completed the cementing of the final production casing string 20 hours prior to the incident.

  • The company also claims it tested the production casing string."

  • It also stated that "at the time of the incident, well operations had not yet reached the point requiring the placement of the final cement plug which would enable the planned temporary abandonment of the well, consistent with normal oilfield practice."

Clearly there is going to have to be some careful examination of the cementing operation and related engineering questions. As Gold and Casselman report, the MMS says "cementing was a factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period....the single largest factor, ahead of equipment failure and pipe failure."

Moreover, cracks in the integrity of the company's cementing operations have happened before. The Journal reporters say Halliburton was the cementer on a well that suffered a big blowout last August in the Timor Sea, off Australia, where tens of thousands of barrels of oil were released over 10 weeks before it was shut down.

The investigation into that incident "is continuing; Halliburton declined to comment on it."

It's starting to look like the only thing Halliburton can cap tightly is its own mouth.

If they don't start spilling their guts soon, what is already destined to be an ecological disaster will also be a major PR disaster for a company already saddled with the reputation for being a war profiteer.

 
 
 
 
 
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06:18 AM on 06/19/2010
Rawstory: Disaster capitalists: Halliburton to make money off oil spill...look it up: Halliburton, which built the cement casing for the Deepwater Horizon's drill, announced its purchase of Houston-based oilfield services company Boots and Coots for $240 million on April 9, just 11 days before the Deepwater Horizon explosion..
03:17 PM on 05/30/2010
I mean investigated!!
03:17 PM on 05/30/2010
Does Liz Chenney want this invested?
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Carol McBride
12:25 AM on 05/05/2010
It isn't right to throw blame anywhere yet. Just as it isn't right to blame any administration for this; that means Bush OR Obama. This colossal disaster was the culmination of many shoddy things falling apart at once. Not one or two. If any of us had a crystal ball, we'd see a dozen lines all converging at once in the middle of "hell breaking loose". Personally, I think more blame lies on the safety crews who did NOT realize the Blowout Devices were not working! All THREE OF THEM???? THAT in itself smells like a big huge pot of rotten fish!
06:06 AM on 05/04/2010
Hi guys, I guess I'm not going to be popular here but meh, I think I'll say my piece anyway.
I'm a Halliburton employee, I work offshore as a cementer. I think everyone is being a bit sensationalist about this story, there's no evidence yet to say the cement job had anything to do with the disaster . It's always easy to point the finger at Halliburton whenever something nasty happens but I'll tell you, they are honestly one of the safest oilfield services companies I've worked for and I dont agree with Jinxed's earlier comments regarding:
Untrained Employees- We are all very well trained and competent individuals who undergo constant assessment in out abilities and skills.
Inferior products- Believe it or not, Halliburton cementing equipment and products are far superior to many of the competitors.
Incomplete and shoddy jobs - That's just speculative nonsense, our work is continually monitored by clients and management. The cement job was completed sucessfully and pressure tested on the Deepwater horizon.
The cause of the Blowout was down to the failure of the primary pressure control equipment which belongs to Transocean - nothing to do with Halliburton.
I'm sure none of you will be interested in what I say but I'm just an ordinary guy who loves to come home to his family after every trip offshore, if I thought that for one minute this wouldn't happen I wouldn't be working for Halliburton.
12:39 PM on 05/11/2010
Well said. At this point no-one really knows for sure as to who's responsible for this disaster. It's basically down to one or more of BP, the rig's owners and Halliburton.

However, Halliburton has made it's corner harder to defend by it's long track-record of corrupt and illegal practices, I'm happy to believe your part of the company has nothing to do with those but they make it much harder for anyone not to be suspicious of the company in situations such as this one. Think of it as being bitten in the butt by corporate kama.
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Halter
01:23 PM on 05/03/2010
I hope BP sucks Halliburton dry, otherwise we'll be paying for the cleanup at the pump, as well as paying for the indirect human and economic devastion wrought by this disaster.
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jinxed
starting over at 60
12:14 AM on 05/03/2010
Halliburton again? Shoddy work appears to be their calling card wherever they go. Makes one wonder how much more money they made by:
1. Untrained employees, or
2. Inferior products (cement this time), or
3. Incomplete or shoddy job (20 hours after "completion" the well blows up?
Why am I not surprised Cheney's company has its fingerprints on every disaster that seems to hit America over and over again?
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bilo rile me
"The public is sometimes forgetful." -Ferd. Pecora
03:50 PM on 05/02/2010
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2009/03/31/olbermann-dick-cheney-electrocution-showers-endangering-u-s-troops-ir
Looks to me that Haliburton's records for it's weekly safety meetings, concrete test results, inspection records, etc., may be relevant...
10:35 PM on 05/01/2010
Dick and his company could give a "rat's ass" about what anyone thinks of them. They own our Country and anyone who thinks different I've got 2 words. "Iraq War". They have profited mightily and will continue to do so in the future. They own the Supreme Court and can now spend to their hearts content to buy all future politicians. Goldman/Sachs just like the rest of the slimy bankers participate in useless Congressional hearings, make the same lame excuses while politicians pretend to be outraged, then they pay some piddly fine and go back to business as usual. Worldcom, Tyco, Enron all performed in the same "theater production" but no one went to jail. They never do, or sometimes one "major player" might be trotted out in front of the cameras to spend a couple of years in a Fed resort prison and get out in time to enjoy the fruits of "your" labor.

You mentioned "yellow journalism" well we no longer have journalist in this country, we have "commentators" who read the talking points handed to them by our Corporate owned politicians. This story will fade just as the others have and in no time we will be at each others throats over Mexicans, abortion, and foreign terrorist coming to take our "stuff".
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Kassandra
Your micro-bio is empty
08:13 PM on 05/02/2010
Yeah well, we'll pay for this ultimately as well. Higher gas prices, higher food prices and it will give the gov another excuse to cut the social programs:
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/04/30/fiscal-commission-has-the-knives-out-for-safety-net-spending/
Obama's looking more like Bush every day.
Yer fanned, by the way
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krivka
Proud supporter of the Third Amendment
09:22 PM on 05/01/2010
Deregulation, Cheney, the Bush family and American style corporate socialism.
BPS plan was to make the US taxpayers pay for any mitigation efforts.
Not hard to understand that nobody will pay any penalty except for the US taxpayer.
04:57 PM on 05/01/2010
Seems like a little "yellow" journalism, accusing Haliburton before any of the facts are brought to light in either the gulf spill or the Timor Sea. What ever happened to honest reporting of the facts. And, no, I'm not a Haliburton employee nor even a fan of their company. However, I do believe there has been a lot of mis-stated facts about them in the past. They received a "no-bid" contract for their role in Iraq because there were only two international firms considered qualified to take on such an enormous task. Haliburton and a French co. I'd prefer the contract dollars go to a US firm any day. If you disagree, please name another company with the size and existing presence in the mid-east that could have handled the job. The US govt. has issued many no-bid contracts when the situation required and they have very strict accounting procedures for controlling those contracts and negotiated limits on profits or profit margins.
07:18 PM on 05/01/2010
The "company" that could have taken on such an enormous task was the US military itself. Wake up. The main goal of the Bush Presidency was to create a series of "crisis situations" which enabled the Bush-Cheney cartel to transfer massive amounts of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of their cronies.
"Mission Accomplished."
10:40 PM on 05/01/2010
The war was based on a fabricated lie. I would rather no company had participated in it. But as the war insued anyway, competitive bidding by American companies would have been the only legal way to go. Having one company supply everything from water to weapons and an oil company at that was criminal. The result, theft, corruption, shoddy workmanship, shortages, torture and misery on a grand scale. The Iraqi destruction, brought to you by Haliburton.
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Kassandra
Your micro-bio is empty
08:18 PM on 05/02/2010
Actually it WAS criminal. Because all office holders are required to divest themselves of any interests in companies so as not to be "friendly" to their interests. the Bush administration was one giant clearing house for everybody at the top to make $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, along with their "friends".
Added to that was the relentless attack on the civil rights of the citizens of this country and the impoverishment of same.
I firmly believe that Mr. Bush was our first d!ctator...or Cheney was.
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04:08 PM on 05/01/2010
What I don't understand is how a company with a track record like Halliburton can still get contracts to do this kind of work. Is there no oversight?
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08:26 PM on 05/01/2010
In a word, no.
11:40 AM on 05/03/2010
Believe it or not Halliburtons track record is much better than the others.
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Soulmentor
"To thine own self be true...."
03:37 PM on 05/01/2010
It's the fault of all them evil HOMO-sexials. Pat Robertson, where are ya when we need ya?!?!
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Mark Ellsworth
12:32 PM on 05/01/2010
Halliburton under sustpect: http://networkedblogs.com/3r3Lz?a=share&ref=nf
08:47 PM on 04/30/2010
Halliburton Snaps Up Boots & Coots
By TOM TAULLI
Posted 10:30 AM 04/12/10

But the days of independence have come to an end for Boots & Coots as the company has agreed to sell out to Halliburton (HAL) for $240.4 million. Shareholders will get $1.73 in cash and $1.27 in Halliburton stock for every share of Boots & Coots.

Boots & Coots has two core businesses. First, there is Pressure Control, which involves prevention and risk-control services for oil- and gas-well fires and blowouts. A key to this area was the acquisition of John Wright, which developed sophisticated technologies to measure well integrity.

Next, Boots & Coots has a Well Intervention division, which helps enhance production for oil and gas operators. This business is likely to benefit nicely from the trend toward unconventional resource plays (such as extracting energy from shale). Boots & Coots greatly expanded this division with the acquisitions of Oil States International and StassCo.