wrench out the self-justification of “ my dog exhaust my homework ” can be used by multibillion dollar potbelly as well as grade schoolers . The LA Timesreported Wednesdaythat a company possess by Halliburton is making wild excuses about evidence in its involvement in fixing a gas leak , in what may be an endeavor to deflect blame for themassive leakfrom the utility responsible for .
The pillowcase concerns a California Public Utilities Commission probe of theAliso Canyon methane leak25 mile outside of Los Angeles , where a rift in a natural gas storage well in 2015 sent more than100,000 measured short ton of methanespewing into the atmosphere for month inone of the biggest environmental disasters in U.S. story . The leak causedwidespread health impactsamong multitude subsist in the sphere and forced some 4,400 house physician to relocate while Southern California Gas , the usefulness that owned the storage well , tried to prepare the job .
SoCalGas did n’t play alone : they rent Boots & Coots ( yes , that ’s the name ) , a well control company owned by oilfield service colossus Halliburton ( thesame one that turn a sizeable net income from the Iraq war ) . Unfortunately , Boots & Coots blew it — repeatedly . Between previous 2015 and early 2016 , the Halliburton subsidiary tried and failed six time to secure the faulty well ; SoCalGas finally succeeded in fixing the outflow using another tactic in February 2016 , four months after it started in October .
People chant slogans during a protest outside the Aliso Canyon storage facility, in the Porter Ranch section of Los Angeles, May 2016.Photo: Jae C. Hong (AP)
An analysis has suggested that this failure is partially due to the fact that Boots & Coots did n’t do any reckoner posture about the best ways to contain the leak before last in and trying to fix thing . But the LA Times reported that SoCalGas hasbegun claiming to tell regulatorsthat Boots & Coots did do modeling . In an incredibly * cough * unfortunate twist , this modeling was done on one employee ’s laptop computer , which was then stolen from a Best Buy parking lot in December of 2015 . Because the piece of work was n’t saved anywhere else , the company take , it got turn a loss , and they ca n’t present it in court .
This excuse that would n’t choke a third - gradation teachers ’ sniff trial could have substantial - world ramifications for any penalization doled out for the catastrophe . The Commission is still weighing fining or penalizing SoCalGas for the leak and the delayed cleanup process . Public advocates say that the public-service corporation ’s shareholders should bear for the leak , and be taken to labor for any error made in the cleanup physical process ; if Boots & Coots did take modeling as it claimed , that ’s one less mistake to be held accountable for .
Gizmodo contact Halliburton for input , and the company responded by e-mail , state that “ Boots & Coots is a companionship hired by well owners and operators for well intervention services and only ferment for those proprietor or operator under express written contract , including at Aliso Canyon . While Boots & Coots complies with lawful legal process , it does not point out on pending legal proceeding . ”
unbelievably , this is n’t the first time that Halliburton has misplaced cardinal evidence of fossil - fuel - relate fuckups . In the 2000s , Halliburton was contract by BP to supervise its Deepwater Horizon drilling outfit . The April 2010 burst on the getup , which killed 11 workers and caused134 million gal of oil to finally spill into the Gulf of Mexico , was caused partly in part by a defective cementum mixture . Halliburton wasconvinced in 2013of a misdemeanor offense for destroy grounds during a federal probe that showed company officials knew about the risky cement but allowed it to be used anyway . ( Halliburton also told Gizmodo that connect the Aliso leak and Deepwater Horizon is “ wholly inaccurate and misleading . ” )
If this go fishy to you , you ’re not alone . In a motility filed in August , California ’s Public Advocates Office , the consumer watchdog of the utility commission , query why the stolen laptop was just being brought up now and why the employee had n’t backed up this crucial work elsewhere . The filing also points out that the CEO of Sempra Energy , the parent of SoCalGas , sit on the Halliburton plank when the utility resolve to hire Boots & Coots to plug the leak . Nothing to see here !
Whether or not SoCalGas will be hold in in any way responsible for the leak remains to be seen . Aliso Canyon , meanwhile , is still in economic consumption : the Public Utilities Commission voted just last month toincrease gas storageat the installation , among widespread local opposition . And Halliburton does n’t have to do much talking . Boots & Coots was able to shield itself from more questions from the Public Utilities Commission through a court in Texas , which decree it did n’t have to answer questions from the California government . Must be squeamish to be a potbelly .
CaliforniaCompaniesdeepwater horizon
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , science , and civilisation news in your inbox daily .
word from the future , render to your present .
You May Also Like
