HOUSTON, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Halliburton has filed suit in a Texas state court against BP, alleging defamation, among other things, arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year.
Houston-based Halliburton bases its allegations -- which include negligent representation and business disparagement -- on BP allegedly providing Halliburton with inaccurate information before performing cementing services April 19, 2010, and BP either using or omitting that information in later statements, filings and government investigations, Halliburton said Friday in a release.
Halliburton said it learned that BP provided inaccurate information about the true location of hydrocarbon zones in BP's Macondo well -- critical information needed for performing cementing.
A gas explosion last year on the Transocean Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and oil spewed from the Macondo well in one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of the oil industry. Crude oil flowed into the gulf from April 20 until July 15. The well was declared sealed Sept. 19.
A report in January concluded the failure of the Macondo well "can be traced to a series of identifiable mistakes made by BP, Halliburton and Transocean. … "
BP said the environmental disaster resulted from a "series of complex events, rather than a single mistake or failure" and involved several parties, including BP, Halliburton and Transocean.
