Watchdog Says Top Interior Official Held Oil Company Interests as Agency Regulated Competitors

The second highest-ranked official in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the Department of the Interior (DOI) has been accused of failing to divest from her stakes in a major oil company whose competitors were regulated by her agency.
On Monday, a nonprofit organization called Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) filed a complaint against BLM Deputy Director of Policy and Programs Nada Culver. PPT claims that Culver maintained investments in ConocoPhillips, a major crude oil producer in Alaska, at a time when the BLM suspended multiple competing oil and gas leases in the state.
The complaint specifically alleges that Culver also maintained interests in Conoco by way of her husband’s bond holdings, which would also be considered a prohibited investment….}