Halliburton in spotlight in gulf spill probe

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Investigators look at the company's role in cementing the deepwater drill hole in the Gulf of Mexico. Transocean and BP also face questioning.

By Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times

Investigators delving into the causes of the massive gulf oil spill are examining the role of Houston-based Halliburton Co., the giant energy services company that was responsible for cementing the deepwater drill hole, as well as the possible failure of equipment leased to British Petroleum.

Two members of Congress, Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), called on Halliburton on Friday to provide all documents relating to "the possibility or risk of an explosion or blowout at the Deepwater Horizon rig and the status, adequacy, quality, monitoring, and inspection of the cementing work" by May 7.

Halliburton Chief Executive David Lesar is scheduled to testify before Waxman's energy and commerce committee on May 12, along with top executives Lamar McKay of BP America Inc. and Steve Newman of Transocean Ltd., which leased the drilling rig to BP.

In a statement Friday, Halliburton said: "It is premature and irresponsible to speculate on any specific causal issues.… The cement slurry design was consistent with that utilized in other similar applications… [and] tests demonstrating the integrity of the production casing string were completed."

After an exploration well is drilled, cement slurry is pumped through a steel pipe or casing and out through a check valve at the bottom of the casing. It then travels up the outside of the pipe, sheathing the part of the pipe surrounded by the oil and gas zone. When the cement hardens, it is supposed to prevent oil or gas from leaking into adjacent zones along the pipe.

As the cement sets, the check valve at the end of the casing prevents any material from flowing back up the pipe. The zone is thus isolated until the company is ready to start production.

The process is tricky. A 2007 study by the U.S. Minerals Management Service found that cementing was the single most-important factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period.

Halliburton has been accused of performing a poor cement job in the case of a major blowout in the Timor Sea off Australia last August. An investigation is underway.

In its statement, the company said: "Halliburton originated oilfield cementing and leads the world in effective, efficient delivery of zonal isolation and engineering for the life of the well, conducting thousands of successful well-cementing jobs each year."

The company had four employees stationed on the rig at the time of the gulf accident, all of whom were rescued by the Coast Guard. It had completed the final cementing of the well and pipe 20 hours before the blowout April 20.

But at the time of the accident, "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," the Halliburton statement said.

Experts were cautious about attributing blame, pending what are expected to be lengthy investigations by Congress and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard.

"What we do know is that highly pressurized oil is coming out of the wellhead with no control possible at this time," said Richard Charter, a drilling expert with the Defenders of Wildlife. "For that to happen, at least three redundant fail-safe mechanisms on and below the rig had to either fail to operate or not have been properly installed."

Charter said a piece of equipment known as the blowout preventer is required to shut automatically, according to regulations by the Minerals Management Service. "And it obviously did not," he said.

Moreover, he added, a manual acoustic shutoff switch could have stanched the flow but may not have been available.

Joe Leimkuhler, past president of the American Assn. of Drilling Engineers, said it was difficult to speculate about the role of cementing in the accident. "The process to place the cement in the well is very similar from job to job, but the details that make up the risk and challenges are specific to each well. You really need the details of the well design and the formation characteristics." He added that only the companies involved have that information.

Some speculation has centered on methane pockets frozen into crystallized formations beneath the seabed that could be warmed by the cementing process and become unstable. A 2009 Halliburton presentation to the drilling engineers association described the challenges of methane hydrates, asking: "When do hydrates become unstable?" and "Will cement hydration cause this outcome?" The presentation noted that "gas release is a challenge for safety and economics."

A company spokesman declined to comment on whether methane hydrates, warmed by cement curing, may have been a factor in the gulf explosion.

More than two dozen class-action lawsuits have been filed against BP, Transocean and Halliburton. BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams said the company was "taking full responsibility" for the spill and would pay for legitimate claims by affected parties.

margot.roosevelt@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-investigation-20100501,0,2641014.story

[DEDixon 39]

seems Halliburton upsets the left as much as Sarah Palin.... both makes a lefttard's head explode.

why does the left hate Halliburton? dems don't give contracts to Halliburton?

[Dan J 277]

seems Halliburton upsets the left as much as Sarah Palin.... both makes a lefttard's head explode.

why does the left hate Halliburton? dems don't give contracts to Halliburton?

What does this have to do with politics? Halliburton may have f'ed up and is responsible or at least partially responsible for this oil spill. Do you think companies should be free of any environmental responsibility if they donate to the Republican party?

[DEDixon 39]

What does this have to do with politics? Halliburton may have f'ed up and is responsible or at least partially responsible for this oil spill. Do you think companies should be free of any environmental responsibility if they donate to the Republican party?

right or wrong, my thoughts are that if the company wasn't Halliburton, this article would not have been posted.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Do you think companies should be free of any environmental responsibility if they donate to the Republican party?

Of course he does.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

right or wrong, my thoughts are that if the company wasn't Halliburton, this article would not have been posted.

Wrong. It was on the front page of today's LA Times. The oil spill happens to be one of the biggest news stories right now, not to mention the magnitude of the environmental catastrophe.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Wrong. It was on the front page of today's LA Times. The oil spill happens to be one of the biggest news stories right now, not to mention the magnitude of the environmental catastrophe.

STFU Lenin!

[peejay 327]

Experts were cautious about attributing blame, pending what are expected to be lengthy investigations...

What does this have to do with politics? Halliburton may have f'ed up and is responsible or at least partially responsible for this oil spill. Do you think companies should be free of any environmental responsibility if they donate to the Republican party?

Do you think that a lengthy investigation, gathering of facts, and a determination of the root cause of the accident is appropriate before you make unsubstantiated allegations?

[Dan J 277]

Do you think that a lengthy investigation, gathering of facts, and a determination of the root cause of the accident is appropriate before you make unsubstantiated allegations?

I said they may have messed up in this situation, I never said they did.

[DEDixon 39]

Wrong. It was on the front page of today's LA Times. The oil spill happens to be one of the biggest news stories right now, not to mention the magnitude of the environmental catastrophe.

surprise! that was so unexpected.... NOT!

[Ban Hammer 14,272]

Do you think that a lengthy investigation, gathering of facts, and a determination of the root cause of the accident is appropriate before you make unsubstantiated allegations?

i'm just waiting for the cries of "obama hates the gulf coast beaches"

[luckytxn 2,265]

Since there is still pipe coming from the sea bed then I doubt that the cementing has anything to do with it. I do know that BP has a piss poor record. I have a friend that works at the Texas city BP and he tells me that his plant is a accident waiting to happen again. He and about 90 percent of the people want to leave and find another job so bad before they are killed. I told him to leave and think of his family first. Couldn't imagine working under such despair. Years ago when the last accident at Texas city happened and killed all the good people there BP blamed everyone else but themselves and finally a court action by a lone girl whose mother and father dies proved and forced them to admit total wrong doing.

[luckytxn 2,265]

i'm just waiting for the cries of "obama hates the gulf coast beaches"

Obama the Socialist certainly did take his time to send the Feds. GW took a couple of days and this moron takes over a week. Can anyone be more inept?

[Heracles 417]

Since there is still pipe coming from the sea bed then I doubt that the cementing has anything to do with it. I do know that BP has a piss poor record. I have a friend that works at the Texas city BP and he tells me that his plant is a accident waiting to happen again. He and about 90 percent of the people want to leave and find another job so bad before they are killed. I told him to leave and think of his family first. Couldn't imagine working under such despair. Years ago when the last accident at Texas city happened and killed all the good people there BP blamed everyone else but themselves and finally a court action by a lone girl whose mother and father dies proved and forced them to admit total wrong doing.

Nice try Texan but BP is renowned for safety. A 2007 study by three U.S. Minerals Management Service officials found that cementing was a factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period. That was the single largest factor, ahead of equipment failure and pipe failure.

What you are forgetting Texan is that a lot of us are not as dumb as you think to fall for cliches like Socialist, used to hide the actions of crooks like Halib.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Nice try Texan but BP is renowned for safety. A 2007 study by three U.S. Minerals Management Service officials found that cementing was a factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period. That was the single largest factor, ahead of equipment failure and pipe failure.

What you are forgetting Texan is that a lot of us are not as dumb as you think to fall for cliches like Socialist, used to hide the actions of crooks like Halib.

In fairness, BP has been at the centre of the two worst oil disasters of the last 5 years. First they've had an entire refinery blow sky high, and now an oil rig.

From an American point of view, would you trust them to run an operation with a safety record like that?

I used to work for BP, BTW. I got to see their accident reports