MMS Employees Investigated for Improper Conduct.

Publication: Gas Processors Report

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Hart Energy Publishing, LP.

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued reports on several investigations into improprieties by former and current Minerals Management Service (MMS) employees in regards to dealings with oil and gas company employees.

The investigations primarily surround incidents within MMS' Royalty in Kind (RIK) division, which the Inspector General, Earl Devany, called "a culture of ethical failure."

Devany specifically noted the following incidents from RIK employees: accepting gifts from companies with RIK contracts; leaking information to said companies in order to give them an unfair advantage over other firms; and holding improper business and personal relationships within the oil and gas industry, including not reporting outside consulting work.

The RIK markets oil and gas that MMS takes as payment from leaseholders. MMS states that RIK sells an average of 150,000 b/d of oil and 800 million cubic feet per day (cf/d) in natural gas that are obtained through Royalty in Value leases....

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