The Guardian is reporting a federal judge's acceptance of a plea agreement for Halliburton to pay a US$200,000 fine for destroying evidence in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.
Halliburton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge "stemming from the deletion of data during a post-spill review of the cement job on BP's blown-out Macondo well," continued the news agency.
US District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo said she believes the plea agreement is reasonable and agreed with prosecutors and the company that it "adequately reflects the seriousness of the offense."
Halliburton also agreed to make a US$55 miullion contribution to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The company was BP's cement contractor on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, killing 11 workers.
Unlike BP and rig owner Transocean, Halliburton has not been charged with a crime related to the causes of the disaster, and the company won't face any other criminal charges in connection with the case, though individual employees could still be liable. The fine Halliburton agreed to pay is the statutory maximum for the charge.
Source: The Guardian
