A New Orleans federal judge overseeing litigation on the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster signed an order to release materials Halliburton Co used in the cementing job on BP's blown-out Macondo well to federal investigators.
The order came a day after a government panel said Halliburton had used flawed material to cement the well.
Halliburton was hired by BP to seal the Gulf of Mexico well, which ruptured on April 20th, killing 11 workers who were on the Transocean Ltd rig contracted to drill it. The disaster caused the worst offshore spill in US history.
The judge had previously ordered the material preserved for his cases, but now is being advised by Halliburton that the cementing materials may be deteriorating.
"No destructive testing on the cementing components will be conducted without further order of the court," Judge Carl Barbier wrote in his October 27th order, released on Friday.
Halliburton "will comply immediately" with the judge's order, Cathy Mann, a Halliburton spokeswoman said in a statement.
A White House panel investigating the cause of the well blowout criticised Halliburton's cement job in a letter and report released yesterday, saying the company knew the material was unstable.
The panel's report unleashed a wave of investor worry that Halliburton might be liable for costs related to the disaster and sent its shares down as much as 16 per cent yesterday. This afternoon, the shares were up 9 cents or 0.3 per cent at $31.77.
Today, Halliburton's shares recovered, as analysts characterised yesterday's stock drop as overblown, pointing to the company's strong indemnification clause in its contract with BP.
Halliburton also vigorously defended its actions in a lengthy statement issued last night, saying there were significant differences between the company's tests on the cement used in the Macondo well and the government's tests.
Halliburton said responsibility for the disaster lies with BP, saying the British oil major did not perform a key test to determine the integrity of the cement job.
"BP, as the well owner and operator, decided not to run a cement bond log test even though the appropriate personnel and equipment were on the rig and available to run that test," Halliburton said in its statement.
Reuters