What Disaster? Halliburton Profits Soaring in Wake of Gulf Blowout

While just about everyone associated with BP's Gulf blowout has taken big hits during the past year, Halliburton Co. continues to sail along nicely.

The oil-services company -- which made the failed cement seal widely blamed for allowing explosive gas to enter and ignite the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig -- reported a 60 percent increase in profits for 2010.

On Monday, Halliburton announced that its profits for the first three months of this year more than doubled to $511 million.

In contrast, the Wall Street Journal noted that BP posted its first annual loss in 18 years and Transocean Ltd. reported its profits fell by more than two-thirds. Both companies cited the Gulf of Mexico disaster as the prime cause.

As for possible liability, Halliburton says its ill-fated cement seal was designed to BP's specifications.