http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/10/national/main4436263.shtml
This was your sign
And it WAS ignored!
The allegations of bad behavior involve 13 government employees in Denver and Washington, reports CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. Those accused are workers who sell U.S. mineral rights to oil companies. Such sales are one of the government's biggest sources of revenue besides taxes.
The findings are the latest sign of trouble at the Minerals Management Service, which has already been accused of mismanaging the collection of fees from oil companies and writing faulty contracts for drilling on government land and offshore. The charges also come as lawmakers and both presidential candidates weigh giving oil companies more access to federal lands, which would bring in more money to the federal government.
"The government employees who oversee off-shore oil drilling are literally and figuratively in bed with big oil," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
"This all shows the oil industry holds shocking sway over the administration and even key federal employees," Nelson added. "This is why we must not allow big oil's agenda to be jammed through Congress."
While most government royalties for drilling on federal lands are paid in cash, the government in recent years has been receiving a greater share of its oil and gas royalties in actual product. More of that oil is also being sold on the open market, versus being deposited in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the nation's emergency oil stockpile. Congress earlier this year passed a law halting deposits of oil to the reserve to alleviate high gasoline prices.
Showing posts with label Minerals Management Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minerals Management Service. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Interior Plans to Split Minerals Management Service .
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704250104575237981485045538.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
The tiny agency pretty much says it all, they only collect. American Petroleum Industry writes the rules because it's better for their bottom line.
The Interior Department plans to split the Minerals Management Service into two divisions, one focusing on gathering royalties from oil and gas companies and another focused on safety inspections.
..The tiny agency currently plays dual roles, focusing on collecting money as well as on ensuring the safety of oil drilling in federal waters and land. Some former employees have said that amounts to a conflict-of-interest, as employees must focus on keeping oil revenue flowing while also focusing on safety.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/10/93859/us-agency-lets-oil-industry-write.html#storylink=omni_popular
The oil industry, not the federal agency that regulates it, plays a crucial role in writing the safety and environmental rules for offshore drilling, a role that critics say reflects cozy ties between an industry and its regulators that need to be snapped.
Nearly 100 industry standards set by the American Petroleum Industry are included in the nation's offshore operating regulations. The API asserts that its standards are better for the industry's bottom line and make it easier to operate offshore than if the Minerals Management Service set the rules
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/10/93859/us-agency-lets-oil-industry-write.html#storylink=omni_popular#ixzz0neEUw5SL
The tiny agency pretty much says it all, they only collect. American Petroleum Industry writes the rules because it's better for their bottom line.
The Interior Department plans to split the Minerals Management Service into two divisions, one focusing on gathering royalties from oil and gas companies and another focused on safety inspections.
..The tiny agency currently plays dual roles, focusing on collecting money as well as on ensuring the safety of oil drilling in federal waters and land. Some former employees have said that amounts to a conflict-of-interest, as employees must focus on keeping oil revenue flowing while also focusing on safety.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/10/93859/us-agency-lets-oil-industry-write.html#storylink=omni_popular
The oil industry, not the federal agency that regulates it, plays a crucial role in writing the safety and environmental rules for offshore drilling, a role that critics say reflects cozy ties between an industry and its regulators that need to be snapped.
Nearly 100 industry standards set by the American Petroleum Industry are included in the nation's offshore operating regulations. The API asserts that its standards are better for the industry's bottom line and make it easier to operate offshore than if the Minerals Management Service set the rules
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/10/93859/us-agency-lets-oil-industry-write.html#storylink=omni_popular#ixzz0neEUw5SL
Friday, May 7, 2010
Oil Regulator Ceded Oversight to Drillers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704370704575228512237747070.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop
Self regulation and you just thought that was a banking thing lol.
The small U.S. agency that oversees offshore drilling doesn't write or implement most safety regulations, having gradually shifted such responsibilities to the oil industry itself for more than a decade.
Instead, the Minerals Management Service—now caught up in the crisis of the Deepwater Horizon rig that for weeks has sent crude oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico—sets broad performance goals for the industry. Oil producers and drilling companies are then free to decide for themselves how to meet those goals, industry executives and former regulators say.
A Wall Street Journal examination of the MMS's track record found several instances of the agency identifying potential safety problems and then either not requiring follow-up or relying on the industry to craft a solution. In some cases, the industry didn't do its part.
The Journal also found that the safety record of U.S. offshore drilling compares unfavorably, in terms of deaths and serious accidents, to other major oil-producing countries
Self regulation and you just thought that was a banking thing lol.
The small U.S. agency that oversees offshore drilling doesn't write or implement most safety regulations, having gradually shifted such responsibilities to the oil industry itself for more than a decade.
Instead, the Minerals Management Service—now caught up in the crisis of the Deepwater Horizon rig that for weeks has sent crude oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico—sets broad performance goals for the industry. Oil producers and drilling companies are then free to decide for themselves how to meet those goals, industry executives and former regulators say.
A Wall Street Journal examination of the MMS's track record found several instances of the agency identifying potential safety problems and then either not requiring follow-up or relying on the industry to craft a solution. In some cases, the industry didn't do its part.
The Journal also found that the safety record of U.S. offshore drilling compares unfavorably, in terms of deaths and serious accidents, to other major oil-producing countries
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