Halliburton to Blame for the Oil Spill?

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, information was given about how the tests for the cement formula, which was supposed to seal the natural gas, were done incorrectly, and some never done at all. Their were four tests, the first three were either done incorrectly or were tested on a different cement formula than the one used. The last test showed that the cement formula was fine. However, BP asked Halliburton, a leading cement contractor, to change the formula once more, and Halliburton never took a final test of the new formula. This is a major reason why the oil spill occurred, and more investigations are underway to figure out how the spill happened and what went wrong. Halliburton still blames BP for changing the formula in the first place and for not running their own tests after pumping.
I find this article really interesting because it just shows how different companies have to work together and trust each other not to make mistakes. Blame is now being thrown around and it is unclear whose fault it really is. This obviously shows some protocol was not handled correctly and that better measures need to put in place, as mentioned many times about the incident. At the end of the article, Halliburton states that legally they are fine because their contract with BP protects the company from liability. I thought this was very interesting, it shows how complicated the contracting process is and what sacrifices companies have to make in order to contract with a company, BP had to place their trust in Halliburton. I think it is slightly unfair that they are protected however, if investigations come out saying that the improper cement formula was the cause then it will be hard to get justice over what happened due to their contract.

- Caitlin McGonnigal