Halliburton cementing job investigated by oil spill commission

The cement mix sealing BP’s Macondo well failed pressure tests that Halliburton disregarded. Halliburton’s failure to acknowledge the failed cement tests had disastarous consequences. A faulty Halliburton cementing job is emerging as a primary reason for the well blowout that sank the Deepwater Horizon and began the Gulf oil spill. Shortcuts by Halliburton through the cementing job have been confirmed by the oil spill commission and can result in criminal prosecution. Article source – 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 had been 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 was since the oil mixture wasn't good. The blame is on BP though, if you ask Halliburton. It said that the reason it happened was because of BP's well design and drilling operation.

Stop oil blowouts only with the cement

The cement mixture being investigated by the oil spill commission is a product used in oil drilling to secure a metal casing around pipes and the drill bit as they penetrate reservoirs of oil and gas beneath the ocean floor. The cement is also supposed to keep oil and gas from blowing out the well. The Los Angeles Times reports that in a section of the Macondo well 13,000 feet under the ocean floor, BP chose to use a cement mixture made and recommended by Halliburton. There have to be a lot of tests on the cement to make sure it is really stable since mixing it is very hit and miss.

Failing tests with Halliburton cement

The Halliburton cement recipe was something the oil spill commission wanted to test. The Chevron laboratory got samples for testing because of this. The Halliburton mixture was put through nine tests in order to mimic the BP well conditions which all failed, reports the newest York Times. The commission concluded that the data “strongly suggests” the Halliburton cement may have contributed to the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico 2010. There is some evidence for criminal investigation being held since a little bit of cement mixture off of the Macondo well survived the disaster.

Articles cited

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