FBI Widens North Slope Oil Probe

The FBI is investigating whether Alaska political appointees improperly punished state regulators who tried to enforce environmental rules against oil companies operating in Alaska.
The inquiry is connected to an ongoing criminal investigation of BP for allowing pipelines it operates to corrode enough to cause a large oil spill on Alaska’s North Slope in 2006. Similar pipeline corrosion discovered later that year forced the partial shutdown of Prudhoe Bay, the most productive U.S. oil field.Now, the actions of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, which is responsible for overseeing oil operations in the state, have also come under scrutiny. ADEC is accused of repeatedly shielding oil companies from enforcement actions that would have required better maintenance and oversight of the industry’s facilities and pipelines.