Ties between offshore oil and gas companies and the agency that regulates them persist, nearly a year after the Obama administration announced an overhaul of ethics rules to deter such cozy relationships, documents obtained by the Associated Press show.
About one of every five employees involved in offshore inspections in the Gulf of Mexico has been recused from some duties because they could come in contact with a family member or friend working for a company they regulate.
Ten recent hires are barred for two years from performing work where they could be in a position of policing their previous employer — a company or contractor operating offshore.
The numbers come from recusal forms filed with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Enforcement and Regulation. Roiled by a major offshore oil spill and a series of internal investigations, the agency instituted a new ethics policy last year designed to identify and prevent possible conflicts of interest before they arise.
Copies of the forms submitted by more than 100 inspectors, engineers and permit reviewers in five Gulf coast offices were obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act.
Personal information, such as the names of the employees, their friends and their family members, was blacked out to protect privacy. But the companies with ties to government workers were disclosed, and they represent a who’s who of the offshore oil and gas industry, from majors like Chevron, Shell and BP to smaller companies such as W&T Offshore Inc., Ankor Energy LLC and Hilcorp Energy Co.
While inappropriate behavior has been limited to a few individuals so far, as both Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar and BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich have stressed, the forms quantify for the first time the extent of the bonds between the industry and the agency formerly known as the Minerals Management Service.
The data also underscore the challenges the agency faces as it works to hire more inspectors in a region where offshore drilling is part of the culture and where expertise and training is often found in the private sector.
“The conflicts of interest addressed by this policy are not crimes or badges of shame,” Mr. Bromwich said in a statement provided to AP. “The fact is that they exist because of the close-knit communities in which much offshore activity takes place; they cannot be wished away. The issue is not the conflicts themselves, which have existed for decades, but whether they are identified, addressed and managed.”
However, the number of recusals renewed calls by lawmakers for a stronger ethics policy to be put into law — one that also holds companies accountable and cannot be changed when new leaders come in.
“Our sense is the revolving door is still swinging too widely,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat, in an interview with AP after he had reviewed the recusals.
In the Lafayette, La., office, nearly 35 percent of inspectors have been recused because a friend or relative works for a company they could interact with on the job. In Lake Charles, La., nearly 30 percent of inspectors’ held their last job with an oil and gas company, meaning they can’t perform any duties involving their former employer for two years.
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