Fla. developer sues Halliburton over Gulf spill
By The Associated Press | Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Fla. developer sues Halliburton, saying company's oversights on rig contributed to Gulf spill.
Florida real estate developer St. Joe Co. is suing Halliburton Co. over its role in the rig explosion that led to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
St. Joe said late Wednesday that Halliburton, which was responsible for encasing BP PLC's subsea well in cement, ignored safety procedures and didn't properly manage the cementing process. In deepwater drilling, cementing is a critical element in preventing oil and gas from escaping from the well.
"As a result, the cementing failed, allowing oil and gas to escape the well which caused the catastrophic blowout," St. Joe said. The cause of the blowout has not yet determined. Multiple investigations are ongoing.
The developer, based in Watersound, Fla., owns about 577,000 acres in Florida, 70 percent of which are within 15 miles of the coast. Since the rig explosion in April, St. Joe says the value of its properties has declined substantially. Its stock has lost 23 percent since the April 20 incident; at one point it had dropped 40 percent. At its worst point, the company lost about $1.4 billion in market capitalization.
Halliburton wasn't immediately available to comment. It has said previously that it followed accepted industry practice in cementing the well.
BP PLC — the well's operator — made most decisions on the rig. Documents released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in June show that BP apparently rejected advice of Halliburton in preparing for the cementing job to close up the well. BP rejected Halliburton's recommendation to use 21 "centralizers" to make sure the casing ran down the center of the well bore. Instead, BP opted to use six centralizers.
St. Joe filed the suit late Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court.
Early Thursday, St. Joe posted a second-quarter loss of $8.6 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with a loss of $44.8 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue fell to $22 million from $39.1 million a year ago, due to a steep decline in property sales.
Transocean gets 249 lawsuits, claims over oil spill
By Agence France-Presse | Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Close to 250 lawsuits or claims have been filed against Transocean, the company which owns the BP-leased offshore rig behind the huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a filing by the firm showed Thursday.
"As of August 2, 2010, 249 legal actions or claims have been filed against Transocean entities, along with other unaffiliated defendants, in state and federal courts," said the Swiss-based group.
"Additionally, government agencies have initiated investigations into the Macondo well incident.
"We are evaluating all claims and intend to pursue any and all defenses available," it added in its quarterly report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Transocean in May filed a petition in a US court to limit its liability in the spill to 27 million dollars.
Story continues below...
"We believe we are not responsible for the discharged hydrocarbons from the Macondo well," Transocean reiterated in its report to the SEC.
The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, claiming the lives of 11 workers and then sank, unleashing a torrent of oil into the Gulf.
At 4.9 million barrels, the disaster is the biggest maritime spill on record.
BP got the go ahead Thursday to seal the well in with cement, one of the final steps to plug the oil spill at the center of the worst US environmental disaster.
Transocean on Wednesday reported an 11.3 percent net drop in profits for the second quarter to 715 millions dollars.
Insurance companies are paying 267 million dollars in compensation to the company after the offshore rig was destroyed in the fire on April 20, it said.
By The Associated Press | Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Fla. developer sues Halliburton, saying company's oversights on rig contributed to Gulf spill.
Florida real estate developer St. Joe Co. is suing Halliburton Co. over its role in the rig explosion that led to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
St. Joe said late Wednesday that Halliburton, which was responsible for encasing BP PLC's subsea well in cement, ignored safety procedures and didn't properly manage the cementing process. In deepwater drilling, cementing is a critical element in preventing oil and gas from escaping from the well.
"As a result, the cementing failed, allowing oil and gas to escape the well which caused the catastrophic blowout," St. Joe said. The cause of the blowout has not yet determined. Multiple investigations are ongoing.
The developer, based in Watersound, Fla., owns about 577,000 acres in Florida, 70 percent of which are within 15 miles of the coast. Since the rig explosion in April, St. Joe says the value of its properties has declined substantially. Its stock has lost 23 percent since the April 20 incident; at one point it had dropped 40 percent. At its worst point, the company lost about $1.4 billion in market capitalization.
Halliburton wasn't immediately available to comment. It has said previously that it followed accepted industry practice in cementing the well.
BP PLC — the well's operator — made most decisions on the rig. Documents released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in June show that BP apparently rejected advice of Halliburton in preparing for the cementing job to close up the well. BP rejected Halliburton's recommendation to use 21 "centralizers" to make sure the casing ran down the center of the well bore. Instead, BP opted to use six centralizers.
St. Joe filed the suit late Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court.
Early Thursday, St. Joe posted a second-quarter loss of $8.6 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with a loss of $44.8 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue fell to $22 million from $39.1 million a year ago, due to a steep decline in property sales.
***
By Agence France-Presse | Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Close to 250 lawsuits or claims have been filed against Transocean, the company which owns the BP-leased offshore rig behind the huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a filing by the firm showed Thursday.
"As of August 2, 2010, 249 legal actions or claims have been filed against Transocean entities, along with other unaffiliated defendants, in state and federal courts," said the Swiss-based group.
"Additionally, government agencies have initiated investigations into the Macondo well incident.
"We are evaluating all claims and intend to pursue any and all defenses available," it added in its quarterly report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Transocean in May filed a petition in a US court to limit its liability in the spill to 27 million dollars.
Story continues below...
"We believe we are not responsible for the discharged hydrocarbons from the Macondo well," Transocean reiterated in its report to the SEC.
The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, claiming the lives of 11 workers and then sank, unleashing a torrent of oil into the Gulf.
At 4.9 million barrels, the disaster is the biggest maritime spill on record.
BP got the go ahead Thursday to seal the well in with cement, one of the final steps to plug the oil spill at the center of the worst US environmental disaster.
Transocean on Wednesday reported an 11.3 percent net drop in profits for the second quarter to 715 millions dollars.
Insurance companies are paying 267 million dollars in compensation to the company after the offshore rig was destroyed in the fire on April 20, it said.
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