"U.S. Fines BP for Misreporting Gas Production"

"The Interior Department has fined BP America $5.2 million for filing false reports related to gas production on Indian tribal lands in southwest Colorado.

The department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement announced Wednesday that the company had submitted inaccurate royalty rates and prices and “reported well production on leases other than those to which the production is attributable.”

Michael R. Bromwich, the new director of the bureau, which until recently was known as the Minerals Management Service, said, 'It is simply unacceptable for companies to repeatedly misreport production, particularly when it interferes with the auditing process.' He added, 'We are committed to collecting every dollar due from energy production that occurs on federal and American Indian lands, and accurate reporting is crucial to that effort.'"

Bernard Becker reports for the New York Times' Green blog June 30, 2010.