BP, Halliburton knew of flaws in oil well cement

The lead investigator into the worst oil spill in U.S. history says both companies had data suggesting their oil well could fail.

Fred Bartlit Jr. has found that that tests conducted in February on a cement slurry used to stabilize the Deepwater Horizon well showed the material was potentially unstable. The well exploded on April 20, killing 11 people and causing the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. BP owned the well and had contracted it to Halliburton, and both companies had the results of the February tests but failed to act on them, according to Bartlit. BP had previously admitted there were flaws in the cement but laid the blame completely on Halliburton. Halliburton’s stock dropped 8 per cent Thursday following the news.