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LoginGulf oil well disaster could mean explosive profits for Halliburton
The oil well explosion in the Gulf of Mexico could be a well-timed and profitable accident for Halliburton, the global oil company with the famous connection to former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. Just eight days before the uber-Valdez accident, Houston-based Halliburton acquired Boots & Coots Services, also based in Houston, in a $240 million cash and stock deal.
Boots & Coots, which uses the graphic of a burning oil well to represent the ampersand in its name, specializes in "pressure control and well intervention services." In other words, when an oil well explodes, Boots & Coots can step in and help remedy the problem. In a release, Jerry Winchester, Boots & Coots president and CEO, says "Combining the resources of both companies creates the premier intervention company across the globe.”
While Halliburton's timing of the acquisition could be chalked up to luck, some members of Congress are asking questions. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), have asked Halliburton provide all documents relating to "the possibility or risk of an explosion or blowout" at the rig in the Gulf, according to a report in the LA Times.
In her recent speech delivered in Independence, Mo., Sarah Palin, mother of the "Drill Baby Drill" mantra heard at the last Republican National Convention, called the British Petroleum disaster "very tragic." She went on to say she hopes the country will be able to "trust the oil companies," according to a Politico story.
As reported by Kansas City Political Buzz Examiner Jason Adkins, BP is engaging in textbook damage control by taking responsibility for the accident and promising to make amends. Depending on how Congressional investigations proceed, however, it's possible elected officials will gauge the viability of their corporate alliances based on public outcry. If constituents aren't vocal enough, lawmakers might read a public willingness to at least pretend the iron fist still wears a velvet glove.
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Nuff said... The latest-biggest conspiracy! (cough-cough)
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