I can't really think of a better category for this information. This article is a few months old, but it's quite interesting, and of course has geopolitical implications. I think there's a recent follow up article and will follow up.
Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil--New York Times:
Investigators say they have found evidence of myriad problems at the department: cronyism and cover-ups of management blunders; capitulation to oil companies in disputes about payments; plunging morale among auditors; and unreliable data-gathering that often makes it impossible to determine how much money companies actually owe.
“We don’t have a system that accurately tells us how much oil is being taken out of the ground.”
Blowing the whistle on big oil -- NYT
PeakOil is You
Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
by threadbear » Wed 30 May 2007, 00:21:51
Last edited by threadbear on Wed 30 May 2007, 01:04:45, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
by threadbear » Wed 30 May 2007, 00:38:36
A BIT of a follow up anyway:
The Department of Interior Inspector General is slated to issue reports this summer concerning its investigations into the numerous problems at the MMS. In December 2006, the New York Times reported that the Justice Department had initiated a criminal investigation into the RIK program. In addition, whistleblowers at the MMS filed False Claims Act lawsuits against Eni Petroleum, Shell, and Agip Exploration alleging that they had improperly deducted almost $20 million in transportation costs on RIK leases
http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0523-05.htm
The Department of Interior Inspector General is slated to issue reports this summer concerning its investigations into the numerous problems at the MMS. In December 2006, the New York Times reported that the Justice Department had initiated a criminal investigation into the RIK program. In addition, whistleblowers at the MMS filed False Claims Act lawsuits against Eni Petroleum, Shell, and Agip Exploration alleging that they had improperly deducted almost $20 million in transportation costs on RIK leases
http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0523-05.htm
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Re: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
by threadbear » Wed 30 May 2007, 01:18:24
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'B')ig Oil is not the problem threadbare. It's Peak Oil.
Sadly PStarr--It's both. I wish I could agree with you whole heartedly. It would certainly be easier for me to plan. As it is, I couldn't possibly be more prepared unless I built an actual bunker and filled it with Krations and guns.
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Re: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
by PraiseDoom » Wed 30 May 2007, 01:35:10
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', '
') As it is, I couldn't possibly be more prepared unless I built an actual bunker and filled it with Krations and guns.
') As it is, I couldn't possibly be more prepared unless I built an actual bunker and filled it with Krations and guns.
You mean you HAVEN'T??
Snap to it man, we're more than a year into the greatest deterioration the world has ever seen, the country is crashing around us, we are possibly but days away and uncontrollable Saudi Arabian oil declines ( along with everyone elses ), and you are posting here wasting time rather than accumlating the necessities to carry you through the long struggles ahead?
Wake up and get crackin!
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Re: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
by Zardoz » Wed 30 May 2007, 02:14:37
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '.')..you are a sarcastic twerp, are you not?
He's probably actually JohnDenver, or maybe ReserveGrowthRulz.
"Thank you for attending the oil age. We're going to scrape what we can out of these tar pits in Alberta and then shut down the machines and turn out the lights. Goodnight." - seldom_seen
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Re: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
by threadbear » Wed 30 May 2007, 02:20:23
Anyone care to comment on the articles? I am posting them for general oil issue awareness, not to reintroduce the tired topic of peak or no peak, actually. I think you should have a look.
Investigators are saying as much as 7 billion dollars worth of leasing agreement money may not have been paid. That's money right out of your pockets. I'm not American, so it doesn't affect me, but it should interest you. That's 7 billion.
Investigators are saying as much as 7 billion dollars worth of leasing agreement money may not have been paid. That's money right out of your pockets. I'm not American, so it doesn't affect me, but it should interest you. That's 7 billion.
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Re: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
by Rogozhin » Wed 30 May 2007, 02:48:43
I like guys that post with fervor!
Keep at it threadbear!
Pstarr likes to fvck with all of us
Rog0
Keep at it threadbear!
Pstarr likes to fvck with all of us
Rog0
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Re: Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
by Zentric » Wed 30 May 2007, 03:15:28
Yeah, right. And here's another passage from the same "New York Times" article:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')ut Republican leaders on the House Government Reform Committee, which has been reviewing the flawed leases, recently accused Interior officials of perpetuating a “culture of irresponsibility and lack of accountability” at the agency.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')ut Republican leaders on the House Government Reform Committee, which has been reviewing the flawed leases, recently accused Interior officials of perpetuating a “culture of irresponsibility and lack of accountability” at the agency.
So, in sum, irresponsibility, lack of accountability, cronyism, cover-ups, management blunders, capitulation to oil companies, low morale amongst the auditors, unreliable data gathering on extracted oil... blah blah blah... so what, and WHO CARES?
Look. As long as I feel assured that my government and the oil companies it cooperates with would never lie to me with respect to their reporting on the sizes of, or the changes in, our oil and gasoline stockpiles, or with how much gasoline or oil we consume from month to month, or how much consumption truly has gone down in response to higher gasoline prices and how this decrease stacks up against the stated lags in gasoline imports and domestic refining capacity, and that the Government's reports of inflation and real GDP are always rock solid and to be believed, and that the oil companies and refiners, with the Government's assistance, are, and always have been, doing their level best to maintain a sufficient supply of gasoline for domestic use in the near, medium and long-terms[sup]*[/sup] while, of course, always working to assure for themselves a fair profit along the way - then I know what I need to know. And what does it concern me if some poor auditor is having a bad week or, for that matter, if Kerr-McKee could have gotten its hands on millions of barrels of unaccounted-for oil?
Not that it matters, but I'm skeptical. Can you prove this article actually came from the New York Times?
[sup]*[/sup] Not that there is anything right about that, mind you.
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