Months before Joe Biden was sworn in as President, industry lawyers were working behind-the-scenes with Republican attorneys general to gain support for the controversial pipeline projects Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Materials obtained by Documented provide details on what happened.
Category: Oil and Gas
Posted inOil and Gas
Wyoming Study on Federal Oil Leasing Secretly Funded by Oil Lobby
Reporting by Documented and POLITICO reveals that a widely cited study from the University of Wyoming on leasing federal lands for oil and gas extraction was secretly funded by the oil and gas industry. The study, released in December of 2020 by a Wyoming state agency, makes no mention of funding from the oil and […]
Posted inOil and Gas
Shale CEOs Take Home Generous Compensation Packages Despite Disastrous Company Performance
Over the past decade, frackers have lost more than $250 billion and laid off tens of thousands of employees, prompting Wall Street to cut off the money pipeline. At the same time, many CEOs have been rewarded handsomely thanks to generous compensation and severance packages.
Posted inOil and Gas
CEOs of bankrupt oil and gas corps receive millions in bonuses and other compensation
Documented analysis highlights how top executives are rewarded by bankruptcy courts and corporate boards, despite their companies’ poor performance.
Posted inCorruption, Interior, Oil and Gas, Uncategorized
David Bernhardt’s Ex-Lobbying Clients Met 70 times with Interior Department Appointees
A new analysis from Documented has found that from 2/15/17 to 10/1/18, there were at least 70 meetings between top DOI political appointees and entities listed on Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s ethics recusal letter. The analysis demonstrates that despite legally binding ethics pledges, Bernhardt’s one time lobbying clients have few fetters on their […]
Posted inUncategorized
David Bernhardt Met With API in a Second Undisclosed Meeting
Official documents released by the Department of the Interior reveal that acting Secretary David Bernhardt met with the American Petroleum Institute (API) in Denver, Colorado, on July 26, 2018. Bernhardt was the Deputy Secretary of the Interior at the time. According to travel forms that track travel expenses paid by non-Federal entities, API bought Bernhardt […]
Posted inOil and Gas
Department of the Interior Ignores Scientists to Appease Oil Industry on Endangered Beetle
Secretary Ryan Zinke’s Department of the Interior has used “unsound science and poor ethics” in an attempt to cut protections for an endangered species of beetle, according to top scientific experts involved in the matter. The species at issue is the American Burying Beetle, whose last remaining habitat includes choice onshore oil and gas fields. This has made […]
Posted inRAGA
Republican State Attorneys General Group Held 2017 Holiday Party at Trump Hotel
The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), an industry-backed group that spends millions of dollars each cycle to back the election of Republican attorneys general, celebrated its December 2017 holiday party in style at the Washington D.C. Trump International Hotel. The details were contained in an invitation to the event provided to Documented, and confirmed in […]
Posted inUncategorized
David Bernhardt meets API CEO Jack Gerard in undisclosed meeting
Visitor logs reveal Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior David Bernhardt met with American Petroleum Institute (API) CEO Jack Gerard and API lobbyist Carrie Domnitch in an undisclosed meeting on September 22, 2017. Deputy Secretary Bernhardt’s calendar shows a scheduled “Meeting to Discuss Energy Issues” but does not mention attendees outside of the […]
Posted inOil and Gas
Texas Oil and Gas Lobbyist Presentation Reveals Pro-Industry Bent of 2017 Legislation
During a recent presentation to an oil and gas legal symposium in Austin, TX, industry lobbyist Benjamin Sebree provided an unusually frank assessment of how the industry fared during the 2017 Texas legislative session. In his presentation, which took place on February 2, 2018, Sebree outlined how multiple bills adopted during the past legislative session directly benefited […]