NATION & WORLD


Thursday, December 8, 2011 ■ Page 9 BP: Halliburton destroyed key oil evidence


By CAIN BURDEAU Associated Press


NEW ORLEANS — BP in a high-stakes court


fi ling on Dec. 5 accused Halliburton of destroy- ing damaging evidence about the quality of its cement slurry that went into drilling the oil well that blew out last year and caused the nation’s worst offshore oil spill. BP accused Halliburton of having intention-


ally destroyed evidence about possible problems with its cement slurry poured into the deep-sea Macondo well about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast. An oil well must be cemented properly to avoid blowouts.


Also in the documents fi led in a New Orleans


federal court, BP accused Halliburton of failing to produce incriminating computer modeling evidence. BP accused Halliburton of claiming the modeling is gone. BP asked U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to pe-


nalize Halliburton and order a court-sponsored computer forensic team to recover the missing modeling results.


Halliburton did not return a call seeking com- ment but told other media outlets that the accu- sations were untrue.


The allegations in the 310-page motion ratch-


eted up the showdown among BP PLC and con- tractors, Halliburton and Transocean Ltd. The three companies have been sparring over blame for the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon blast, which killed 11 workers and led to the release of 206 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. So far, BP, the majority owner of the Macondo


well, has footed the bill for the emergency re- sponse and cleanup. Also involved are Anadarko Petroleum Co. and


Cameron International Corp. The fi rst trial over the Deepwater Horizon


disaster is scheduled to start Feb. 27 in New Or- leans. The fi rst leg is expected to take about three months and determine the liability of each com- pany involved in drilling the Macondo well. There will be other phases over cleanup costs, punitive damages and other claims.


Tribal leaders urge Obama to reject pipeline


WASHINGTON (AP) — Native


American tribal leaders are asking President Barack Obama to reject a permit for a proposed oil pipeline from Canda to refi neries in Texas. The pipeline opponents planned


to make their plea when leaders of the nation’s 565 American Indian tribes met with Obama on Dec. 2 in Washington. The administration has delayed the pipeline project until 2013. Ogalala Sioux Tribe President


Associated Press


John Steele says his tribe fears toxic substances from the pipeline will contaminate a Missouri River water pipeline that cost the tribe $450 mil- lion and provides three reservations with potable water. He spoke at a news conference in Washington on Dec. 1. Rosebud Sioux President Rodney Bordeaux says he fears damage to cul-


Rodney Bourdeaux, president of the Rosebud Sioux tribe in South Dakota, left, and Tracy King, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council in Montana, right, listen as John Steele, president of the Ogalala Sioux tribe in South Dakota speaks at a news conference to discuss concerns over the Keystone XL Pipeline Dec. 1 in Washington.


tural sites. Chief Bill Erasmus of the Dene Nation in Canada also spoke in opposition.


Stephen C. Bowman, President Cell 406-765-7951 • Residence 406-385-2294 email: sbowman@diamondb.us


Victor J. Lawson, Vice President Cell 406-765-7687 • Residence 406-765-1723 email: vlawson@diamondb.us


PO Box 567 • Plentywood, MT 59254 Office 406-765-1376


1-800-376-1376 Fax 406-765-2322 Federal and independent investigations of the


disaster have found fault in Halliburton’s cement job because it failed to properly plug the well. Halliburton used a foamy cement slurry. In the Dec. 5 court fi ling, BP accused Hallibur-


ton employees doing an internal investigation of the Macondo disaster of discarding and destroy- ing early test results they performed on the same batch of cement slurry used in the Macondo well.


BP said Halliburton’s chief cement mixer for


Gulf projects testifi ed in depositions that the ce- ment slurry seemed “thin” to him but that he chose not to write about his fi ndings to his bosses out of fear he would be misinterpreted. “I didn’t want to put anything on an email that


could be twisted, and turned,” Rickey Morgan, the Halliburton cement expert, said in depositions. He worked at a laboratory in Duncan, Okla. “Upon reviewing these latest testing results,


Halliburton employees destroyed records of the testing as well as the physical cement samples used in the testing,” BP alleged.


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