US oil industry watchdog to be broken up
Published:Tuesday | May 11, 2010 | 5:53 PM
The Obama administration is to break up an interior department agency that oversees offshore drilling, in response to the Gulf Coast oil spill.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to unveil plans to split up the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which critics say is riddled with conflicts of interest.
The MMS is tasked with enforcing oil drilling safety, as well as collecting billions of dollars in royalties from the industry.
A 2008 interior department investigation found some MMS employees took drugs and had sex with energy company representatives.
According to the investigation some staff had also accepted gifts and free holidays.
Meanwhile, the interior secretary is also conducting a 30-day review of offshore drilling, at the request of President Barack Obama.
BP and US officials have been desperately trying to seal the damaged oil well, which is gushing 5,000 barrels a day into the sea.