Although Halliburton tests showed that a cement mixture was unstable, it was used on the BP Macondo well regardless. Halliburton’s failure to acknowledge the failed cement tests had disastarous consequences. A faulty Halliburton cementing job is emerging as a primary cause of the well blowout that sank the Deepwater Horizon and started the Gulf oil spill. Halliburton’s negligence is being investigated by a presidential commission and could result in action against the company by the Justice Department.
Halliburton knew cement was unstable
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. Halliburton said that the cement mixture was shown to be stable through tests before, reports the Associated Press. The disaster has caused companies to start blaming each other one another. Halliburton and BP are two of these companies. The Macondo well only had oil and gas come out of it because of the cement mixture, BP states. The response Halliburton gives is the well design and drilling operation by BP are to blame.
Cement critical to prevent oil well blowouts
The oil spill commission is investigating the cement mixture that was supposed to secure a metal casing that goes around pipes and drill bit in oil drilling while they penetrate all oil and gas under the floor of the ocean. Oil and gas should be prevented from leaving the well with the cement as 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. Mixing the cement mixture together is a hit and miss process. This is why testing it to determine its stability throughout is essential.
Halliburton cement fails every test
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. As outlined by the new York Times, the Halliburton mixture went via nine tests that mimicked the conditions at the BP well. All nine of these were failed though. As a result of this, the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has data that "strongly suggests" that Halliburton cement had been part of the problem the commission said. The disaster didn't take out all of the cement on the Macondo well. Just a little bit is being kept as evidence for when the criminal investigation needs it.
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
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