The US National Commission examining the events surrounding the Deepwater Horizon oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico says that the cement used by Halliburton may be a factor in the disaster, thereby taking some of the heat off of BP. The commission claims that Halliburton and BP both knew the cement was unstable. If Halliburton is also to blame for the spillage then BP will not have to pay such high fines and costs. Anadarko Petroleum and Mitsui are refusing to pay their 35% share of the costs until after an investigation. Apparently, the commission conducted nine tests to try to generate a stable foam cement, like the one used for Deepwater Horizon, with the materials provided by Halliburton. None of these attempts worked. The oil services firm rejects the results. Halliburton has been ordered to provide cement used on the Deepwater Horizon project. According to Panmure Gordon, a gross negligence fine is $4,300 per barrel spilt but this reduces to US$1,100 per barrel for normal negligence. There were around 5mmbl of oil spilt so the gross negligence fine could be as much as $21bn, but this would reduce to $5.5bn at the lower level. Panmure Gordon points out that there is still a long way to go before this is sorted out. BP is expected to reinstate its dividend in February.