The awards luncheon has been cancelled: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/too-busy-for-oil-awards/ Too Busy for Oil Awards By JOHN M. BRODER

Scratch the awards luncheon for offshore drilling safety. The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service, responsible for overseeing oil drilling on public land and offshore, was scheduled to present its annual award for exemplary safety and environmental management by offshore oil industry operators next week. BP, the oil company that contracted with the rig operator of the well that blew in the Gulf of Mexico last week, leaving three men injured and 11 missing and presumed dead, was one of the finalists in the big company category. The award was to have been presented at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston on May 3. “The ongoing situation with the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling accident has caused the M.M.S. to dedicate considerable resources to the successful resolution of this event, which will conflict with holding this ceremony next week,” the agency said in a statement on Wednesday. “The M.M.S. will announce how the agency will proceed with the 2010 SAFE Award program during the next several weeks. The M.M.S. apologizes for any inconvenience and thanks the organizers of the O.T.C.. for their understanding of our current situation.”

-------------------------- Well, it would have been embarrassing for MMS to give an award for oil drilling safety to BP right now. But there is an oil company that has recently won awards for oil drilling safety: http://www.pennenergy.com/index/articles/display/9443321068/articles/pen... CITGO Refineries wins safety, environmental awards May 28, 2010

CITGO Petroleum Corporation refineries were recognized by the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) with seven awards for their safe operations during 2009. The awards were presented at the 18th Annual Safety Awards Banquet recently held in the San Antonio, Texas area as part of NPRA’s National Safety Conference. The awards included one Gold Award, three Meritorious Safety Performance Awards and three Achievement Awards. “These awards are yet another demonstration of our commitment to safety and environmental stewardship in alignment with principles endorsed by our shareholder, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to promote environmental protection and improve the quality of life of people,” said CITGO President and CEO Alejandro Granado. “Achievements such as these are made possible through the hard work and commitment of each and everyone of our employees,” he added. Of the seven awards, the CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex received two Achievement awards, one Gold award and one Meritorious Safety Performance Award; the CITGO Lemont Refinery received one Achievement award and one Meritorious Safety Performance Award; and the CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery received one Meritorious Safety Performance Award.

----------------------------------------------- Of course it would also be embarrassing for MMS to give the awards to the only oil company that deserves them, the Venezuelan CITGO. Unlike our own Constitution, the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela protects workers' rights and environmental rights. http://www.misionvenezuela.org/ingles/venezuela.htm And it didn't establish a Supreme Court that can interpret law so as to protect the interests of corporations, it established instead a Supreme Tribunal of Justice that is charged with protecting the interests of everyone. Worker safety and environmental protections are therefore fully Constitutional and enforceable in Venezuela, whereas in the U.S. the enforcement of such protections could easily be interpreted by our Supreme Court, in accordance with various Supreme Court precedents, as undue interference with and violation of the Constitutional rights of corporate persons to maximize profits at the expense of workers and the environment. It could be embarrassing if Americans knew that, so no U.S. governmental agency is likely to do anything that might reveal the facts.