The cement mix sealing BP’s Macondo well failed pressure tests that Halliburton disregarded. Failure of the cement casing is considered a probable cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010. Halliburton’s negligence is being investigated by a presidential commission and could result in action against the company by the Justice Department.
Unstable cement Halliburton knew about
Using unstable cement was a decision Halliburton made. When investigating the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, investigators discovered this. Halliburton said the cement mixture was shown to be stable through tests before, reports the Associated Press. Halliburton and BP are blaming each other for the disaster. The Macondo well only had oil and gas come out of it as a result of the cement mixture, BP states. 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.
Cement can be the only thing stopping oil well blowout
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 also the drill bit. This is the cement that the oil spill commission is investigating. There is one more purpose for the cement. It should stop oil and gas blowouts from 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.
Tests for Halliburton cement failed
The oil spill commission sent samples of the Halliburton cement recipe to a Chevron laboratory for testing. 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 in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has data that "strongly suggests" that Halliburton cement was part of the problem the commission said. A small amount of the actual cement mixture used on the Macondo well survived the disaster and is being held as evidence for a criminal investigation.
Info from
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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