Halliburton Admits Destroying Gulf Spill Evidence

Journalists who worried about a cover-up during the April 2010 blowout of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico got some vindication this month when Halliburton admitted to destroying evidence.

Halliburton, the well-services company that performed the cement job on the blown out well, said July 25, 2013, that it would plead guilty under an agreement with the Justice Department. The agreement had yet to be approved and finalized by a court as this WatchDog was being published.

The destruction of evidence count was a criminal misdemeanor. Halliburton also agreed to pay $200,000 in fines and donate $55 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

• "Halliburton Admits Destroying Gulf Oil Spill Evidence," USA TODAY, July 25, 2013, by Michael Winter.
• "Halliburton Pleads Guilty To Destroying Gulf Oil Spill Evidence," Reuters, July 25, 2013.
• US Department of Justice, Release of July 25, 2013.
• Halliburton Release of July 25, 2013.
• "Gulf Oil Spill Fallout: Halliburton's Guilty Plea Is Good News for BP," Bloomberg Businessweek, July 26, 2013, by Paul M. Barrett.
• Editorial: "Oil Spill Aftermath: Halliburton Got off Easy on Destroying Evidence," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 31, 2013.
• "Halliburton Shares Up Despite Destroying Evidence," USA TODAY, July 26, 2013, by Adam Shell.
• "What BP Doesn’t Want You To Know About the 2010 Gulf Spill," Newsweek, April 22, 2013, by Mark Hertsgaard.
• "Evidence Withheld in BP Oil Spill Comes to Light," Environment News Service, July 26, 2013.