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His investigation showed a pervasive gift-acceptance culture in the Lake Charles, LA District Office, suggesting similar improprieties elsewhere.
Background
MMS leased Gulf drilling sites to about 130 oil and gas companies, including BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, and many others. About 4,000 rigs are located throughout four Louisiana districts - Lake Charles, Lafayette, New Orleans, and Houma - as well as one in Lake Jackson, TX.
The Outer Continental Shelf Act requires that MMS inspect these platforms to assure they comply with federal regulations with regard to safety and environmental considerations, issuing "incidents of non-compliance" for known deficiencies. From 2004 - 2009, IOC's experience was instructive. It was fined a mere $572,500, pocket change too little to matter.
The current investigation followed an earlier one into former New Orleans regional supervisor Don Howard's activities - fired in January 2007 for accepting drilling contractor gifts, failing to report them, then making false statements for cover.
His impropriety "appears to have been a generally accepted practice by MMS inspectors and supervisors in the Gulf of Mexico region."
Gifts included sports tickets, skeet-shooting contests, hunting and fishing trips, golf tournaments, crawfish boils, Christmas parties, among others, at times including travel and other expenses. If they exceed $335 dollars from any one source during the reporting period, they're required to be disclosed, and the identity of the source.
According to one former Lake Charles inspector, "everyone has gotten some sort of gift before at some point," showing a practice way out of hand, suggesting the possibility that maybe cash and other favors were given.
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