Saturday, May 01, 2010
Jimmy Harrell, of the Deepwater Horizon accepts their MMS District SAFE Award from John Keeton, Performance Rig Manager, 2009
It’s probably safe to assume that the Department of the Interior won’t be giving out any more awards soon to Transocean Ltd., owner of the offshore oil platform that blew up and sank in the Gulf of Mexico. Up until last summer at least, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) thought Transocean was doing a bang-up job, presenting the company with a regional Safety Award for Excellence (SAFE) for “outstanding drilling operations” and a “perfect performance period.”
Of course, this is the same federal office where officials have been exposed for their poor lack of judgment. An investigation in 2008 found that some MMS employees “frequently” drank alcohol at industry functions, were known to use cocaine and marijuana, and had been in bed—literally— with oil and gas company representatives.
MMS also sided with industry in opposing the addition of a new safety control for oil drilling platforms which might have helped mitigate the accident in the Gulf.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
MMS Thought Deepwater Horizon was Award-Winningly SAFE (Project on Government Oversight)
GoM Rig Teams Win MMS District SAFE Award, Transocean Nominated for National SAFE Award (Beacon Magazine)
Gulf Oil Spill Puts Spotlight on Regulator with Mixed Record (by Marian Wang, ProPublica)
The Missing Men of Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig (by Joanna Sugden, Times Online)
Can a Failed Agency be Trusted to Oversee Oil Industry? (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)
Initial Exploration Plan: Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (BP Exploration & Production Inc.) (pdf)
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