BP Claims Halliburton Destroyed Oil Spill Evidence, Seeks Sanctions
BP claims in court papers filed Monday that its contractor Halliburton has intentionally destroyed damaging evidence about cement tests that could be used in a trial assessing liability for the Gulf Oil spill.
BP cites deposition testimony by a Halliburton technician who said he threw out cement test results because he feared they could be “misinterpreted” and his words “twisted and turned,” report CNN, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) and Bloomberg News. Halliburton has previously defended its cement recommendations for the oil well and has blamed BP’s engineering and design for the oil rig explosion.
BP also alleges that Halliburton “has, at best, lost’’ computer data showing BP’s design was not at fault.
BP wants to try to recover evidence from the computer and is seeking sanctions, including possibly barring certain Halliburton claims or defenses, Bloomberg says.
A Halliburton spokeswoman says BP’s claims are without merit.
