NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Halliburton Energy Services has been arraigned on a charge that the Houston-based company destroyed evidence following BP's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lawyers for the company Wednesday entered a plea of not guilty to one count of destruction of evidence in federal court in New Orleans. But they say Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty at a date to be determined as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Halliburton also has agreed to pay the statutory maximum fine of $200,000, be on probation for three years and to cooperate with the government's criminal investigation.
Halliburton was BP's cement contractor on the drilling rig that exploded, triggering an explosion that killed 11 workers and spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.