Ellington

The cement fixture Halliburton officials used to seal the bottom of a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico did not meet industry standards, The New York Times reported Thursday.

A presidential commission investigating the spill determined that repeated cement test found that the mixture was unlikely to set properly in the well. On March 8, BP officials received the first test result but did not act on it. Another test, conducted a bout a week before the April 20 oil disaster also found the cement had flaws.

BP's internal investigation points to the cement as one of the main reasons the accident occurred. As the cementing contractor, Halliburton was in charge of cementing the well. Halliburton officials, however, said in public testimony that BP's flawed well design and operations caused the explosion.