BP: Halliburton Torched Evidence in Gulf Oil Spill

Well was fraught with problems going back to June 2009

(NEWSER) - Most of us just woke up one April day to the news that an oil rig had exploded in the Gulf, but BP knew of safety concerns at least 10 months before that, according to documents obtained by the New York Times. The highlights:

• In June 2009, BP engineers worried that the casing the company wanted, for which it had to obtain special permission, might collapse under high pressure in "a worst-case scenario."

Went with riskier option because it was cheaper

(NEWSER) - First rule of business, kids: cut costs where you can. For example, if you can buy a cheaper cement for the casing pipe in your oil well, and the only risk is that it might fail to seal, let gas leak in, and lead to a massive explosion, you should definitely do it. Just ask BP. It deliberately selected the cheaper type of casing, fully aware that, in the event of a leak, it provided only a single seal as barrier, according to a document provided to Congress and the New York Times ; the more expensive option would have provided two. More»

Equipment showed danger of blowout, but they kept working

(NEWSER) - Just two hours before the Deepwater Horizon exploded, a major test revealed a “very large abnormality” in the well, but workers simply ignored it and kept working, BP revealed in a report to Congress yesterday. Previously, BP had said the test was inconclusive, the Wall Street Journal notes, but now the company says ignoring it may have been the “fundamental mistake” that led to the explosion. More»

Workers recount fateful night Deepwater Horizon blew

(NEWSER) - It was a pristine day on the Gulf of Mexico, and the crew of the Deepwater Horizon had much to celebrate—they were nearing completion of a difficult oil well ahead of schedule, and a crew of BP execs had landed that morning to laud their safety record. Then at 10pm, a methane bubble charged up the pipes, found a spark, and the entire ship blew. “We all were sure we were going to die,” one superviser tells the New York Times . More»

With trial to begin tomorrow, lawyers negotiating furiously

(NEWSER) - With the trials set to begin tomorrow for BP and the other companies involved in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP alone could conceivably face up to $52 billion in fines and compensation, reports the AP . Under the Clean Water Act, which requires a minimum of $1,100 per barrel of spilled oil, but quadruple that amount for gross negligence, BP could owe up to $21 billion. And under the Oil Pollution Act, which requires companies to pay for the restoration of the environment hurt by their pollution, BP could face another $31 billion. "This one is off the charts in terms of size and significance," says the director of an environmental watchdog group. More»