Inspectors Received Gifts From Oil Companies

To further complicate the oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, watchdog organizations are now reporting that oil rig inspectors, particularly the Mineral Management Service of Louisiana, failed to properly investigate oil rigs because of bribes from oil companies. This faulty reporting could be partially to blame for the recent explosion of the Deepwater Horizon.

Reports of this practice have existed for quite some time, long before the oil situation in the Gulf began. In fact, the results of this report were only released early by Mary Kendall, the Interior Department's acting Inspector General, after the disaster occurred. The report states "Through numerous interviews, we found a culture where the acceptance of gifts from oil and gas companies were widespread throughout [the Mineral Management] office." When Kendall took the results to Federal Prosecutors in Louisiana, the agency declined to press charges at the time.

Things such as meals and sporting event tickets were common "gifts". In one instance, a government inspector was applying for a job at the company whose rig he was inspecting, but the Mineral Management Service saw no conflict of interest. Another employee received over $6,000 worth of gifts from an oil company. "Everyone has gotten some sort of gift before at some point" from companies they regulated, says an employee interviewed for the report.

Mineral Management Service collected over $10 million dollars in royalties itself from oil and gas companies. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar comments on this situation by saying "This deeply disturbing report is further evidence of the cozy relationship between some elements of MMS and the oil and gas industry." He claims he plans to follow through with appropriate punishment, including " termination, discipline, and referrals of any wrongdoing for criminal prosecution. "