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May 25th, 2010:

Inspector General’s Inquiry Faults Regulators

NEW YORK TIMES

A version of this article appeared in print on May 25, 2010, on page A16 of the New York edition.

By IAN URBINA

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators responsible for oversight of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico allowed industry officials several years ago to fill in their own inspection reports in pencil — and then turned them over to the regulators, who traced over them in pen before submitting the reports to the agency, according to an inspector general’s report to be released this week.

The report, which describes inappropriate behavior by the staff at the Minerals Management Service from 2005 to 2007, also found that inspectors had accepted meals, tickets to sporting events and gifts from at least one oil company while they were overseeing the industry. read more

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Regulators Accepted Gifts From Oil Industry, Report Says

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By STEPHEN POWER

WASHINGTON—Employees of a federal agency that regulates offshore drilling—including some whose duties included inspecting offshore oil rigs—accepted sporting-event tickets, lunches and other gifts from oil- and natural-gas companies and used government computers to view pornography, according to a new report by the Interior Department’s inspector general.

The report—which hasn’t been made public by the inspector general but was described Tuesday in an email from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar—notes “a number of violations” of federal regulations and agency ethics rules by staffers assigned to the Lake Charles, La., office of the Minerals Management Service, a unit of Interior that manages the nation’s offshore oil and gas resources, Mr. Salazar said in his statement. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Offshore drilling here to stay, but changes coming

FILE – In this March 29, 2010 file photo, a drill pipe extends through the moon pool at the center of the Discoverer Inspiration where Chevron is drilling an exploration well into Moccasin Prospect in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Regulators are likely to make permitting, inspections and equipment requirements for rigs more stringent. Lawmakers want to extract more money from the industry to help pay for any future cleanups. And insurers are bound to raise rates for underwriting this risky business.(AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Melissa Phillip, file ) read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Greenpeace Targets Shell Contracted-Ship For Anti-Drilling Act

By Isabel Ordonez Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES May 24, 2010 17:54 ET (21:54 GMT)

HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- Greenpeace activists on Monday staged an anti-drilling protest at a Louisiana-based ship contracted by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) to help look for oil in Alaska, the environmental organization said.

Environmental activists painted a message against drilling in the Arctic on the bridge of the Harvey Explorer, which is scheduled to depart for Alaska to support drilling operations in July, according a statement in Greenpeace’s Web site. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.