Halliburton Destroys Evidence Related to Gulf Oil Spill, Pleads Guilty

On July 25, energy services giant Halliburton agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence related to the investigation of the 2010 BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. The company will pay a fine of $200,000, will be on probation for the next three years, and will make a voluntary contribution of $55 million to a wildlife conservation charity. Halliburton will also continue to cooperate in the U.S. Department of Justice's ongoing criminal investigation into the rig explosion and oil spill that killed 11 workers, polluted vast swaths of the U.S. Gulf Coast, and killed and injured untold numbers of sea birds and marine mammals.

The guilty plea stems from Halliburton's own investigation into the blowout and spill. The company ran two simulations of the rig involved to see if there was a difference between using its recommended number of stabilizers (21) and the number that BP used (six) in the well the rig was drilling. The simulator showed that using a lower number of stabilizers was not likely a contributing factor in the disaster, and Halliburton destroyed the results of the simulation. The corporation then continued pointing a finger at BP in an attempt to shift more blame onto the oil company.

Holding bad actors accountable in the wake of human-caused disasters is key to preventing future incidents that endanger our health, safety, and environment. But when individuals and corporations intentionally destroy evidence to evade responsibility for their actions, keeping Americans safe becomes significantly more difficult for the agencies and people charged with that important task.

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It is very important to be strict when it comes to taking care of the environment. - Mallory Fleming
The fine of $200k won't even be felt, and the $55 million "donation" will be able to be written off as tax deductible. So how are they supposed to feel punished?