Investigation of Allegations that an Energy Company Falsified Documents

OIG investigated allegations that an energy company conducted abandoned well operations at the South Timbalier offshore platform (platform) in the Gulf of Mexico, without prior approval from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and then falsified documentation related to those operations.

 

Our investigation determined that the company certified to BSEE that it successfully plugged and tested the well at the platform; however, the company subsequently determined the well had not been adequately sealed and performed remedial steps to regain well control without prior approval from BSEE. The company then failed to document its activities on safety reports or the well activity report. Furthermore, we found that during a routine platform inspection, the company failed to notify BSEE inspectors of the well control issues.

 

We provided our findings to BSEE, and during of our investigation, BSEE assessed the company $965,000 in civil penalties for incidents of non-compliance related to their unauthorized well operations.