In a statement released Tuesday, Halliburton, one of the nation’s largest oil companies, said it had reached a $1.1 billion settlement resulting from an accident at the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. An explosion and fire on April 20, 2010 left 11 dead and caused a “massive and on-going spill” into the gulf, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. A New York Times article from July of 2013 reported the oil giant had paid a fine of $200,000 for destroying evidence related to the spill and Halliburton confirmed the fine in their statement, saying the total bill came to $1.3 billion after “previously accused loss contingency provision.”
Halliburton is one of the leading private contributors to the University of Wyoming, donating $2 billion for the construction of the High Bay Research Facility, as well as an additional $1 million for research into unconventional reservoirs, contributing to the second-highest fiscal year fundraising, totaling over $50 million. All of the largest, single donations came from Halliburton and American integrated oil company, Hess Corporation. After last years contributions, Halliburton’s total contribution to the UW now totals $6 million.
“This support will allow Wyoming’s university the extra edge to educate our students, to serve the state and to provide excellence in everything that we do,” UW President Dick McGinity said.
The university saw a slight dip in private contributions last fiscal year, but still collected over $50 million for the only the second time in it’s history. More the 24,000 individuals, corporations and foundations.
Governor Matt Mead and the university have stated their goal of making UW a tier-one school with an emphasis on developing energy production and technology in the state. During a press conference at last spring’s legislative session in Cheyenne, Halliburton CEO said he hoped the company would develop an integrated relationship with the university.
“We see a benefit to the state, we see a benefit to the university and ultimately, with the research done here, a benefit to U.S. energy production,” Lesar said.
When asked at yesterday’s Presidential Welcome Barbecue if any of the university’s other departments would receive less attention as the university continues to focus on energy, President McGinity said, “Absolutely not.”
“We’re talking about growing as a whole-not shrinking,” McGinity said.
