NYT: Oil Lease Chief Knew of Error, Report Asserts

[Pirate Smile]

Oil Lease Chief Knew of Error, Report Asserts

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
Published: January 17, 2007

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 — A top Interior Department official was told nearly three years ago about a legal blunder that allowed drilling companies to avoid billions of dollars in payments for oil and gas pumped from publicly owned waters, a report by the department’s chief independent investigator has found.

The report, which was sent lawmakers on Tuesday, suggested that Interior officials could have fixed the mistake far more easily if they had taken action when they first recognized it. Oil and gas prices were far lower than they are today.

-snip-
Investigators calculated that the government could have collected an additional $865 million in the last three years alone if officials had told companies drilling in the Gulf of Mexico that they owed all the royalties required on oil and coal extracted from federal waters.

Unless the leases are changed, administration officials expect the mistake to cost billions of dollars in royalties that drilling companies usually are required to pay the federal government for oil and gas pumped from the gulf.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/washington/17royalty.html?hp&ex=1169010000&en=5e545b568cf11c3e&ei=5094&partner=homepage

edit to add - FYI - the original leasing blunders were made under the Clinton administration but the report shows the reluctance of the Bush administration to discuss the issue publicly or find a fix for the problem for nearly six years.

[illinoisprogressive]

1. another shining example of the republcan congress.

[Hand]

2. another heckuva job. nt

[acmavm]

3. 'Blunders'? Why am I sceptical that they were just 'blunders'? And I don't

care if they did occur under Clinton. Billy was (and like his wife) still is very pro big business.

The American worker is finding out how pro big business he is.

[RedEarth]

4. KR

[fed-up]

5. k/r murderring thieves and liars n/t