Chris Oynes

Chris Craig Oynes (28 April 1947 – 18 October 2017) was an American lawyer and Federal government administrator.[1][2]

Oynes was born in Anaheim, California to Christian and Lorraine Oynes.[1][2] Oynes received a BA degree in political science from California State University at Fullerton, and he received a JD degree from George Washington University.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Oynes served as U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) associate director for offshore energy and minerals management before he retired in May 2010. Oynes, who oversaw oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico for 12 years[7] before being promoted to MMS associate director had come under fire for being too close to the industry officials he regulated.[8][4]

During his tenure at the Gulf regional office in Louisiana for the MMS, Oynes played a central role in an offshore leasing foul-up[9][10][11][12] that cost taxpayers an estimated $10 billion in lost revenue.[10] The Interior Department's inspector general called the matter "a jaw-dropping example of bureaucratic bungling."[13][14][15][16][17] Despite that, the agency's then-director, Johnnie Burton, promoted Oynes in 2007 to associate director for the offshore program.[18][14][19][4][20][13][21][9]

On May 24, 2010 The New York Times reported that under his watch in the Gulf, MMS regulators allowed industry officials to fill in their own inspection reports in pencil and then turned them over to the regulators, who traced over them in pen before submitting the reports to the agency. MMS staff also routinely accepted meals, tickets to sporting events and gifts from oil companies.[22] In 2008, a report from the Interior Department's Inpector-General found that MMS employees had received improper gifts from energy industry representatives.[5][22]

In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Oynes announced that he would retire at the end of May 2010.[23][24][25][26][27] According to the Minerals Management website, Oynes had "...more than 30 years of Federal Government experience..."[3][25][8][5][18][2]

Oynes died on 18 October 2017 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[1][2]

References
  1. Anonymous (19 October 2017). "Chris Craig Oynes (1947-2017)". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA: The Advocate. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. Anonymous (19 October 2017). "Chris Craig Oynes, 1947-2017". The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA: The Times Picayune. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  3. Anonymous (2010). "Chris Oynes, Associate Director, Offshore Energy and Minerals Management". Minerals Management Service. Minerals Management Service. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  4. Anonymous (5 February 2007). "Chris Oynes Named Associate Director of MMS Offshore Program". Offshore Magazine. Tulsa, OK: PennWell Corp. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  5. CNN Wire Staff (17 May 2010). "Federal Official Overseeing Offshore Oil Development to Retire Early". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  6. Anonymous (October 2000). "Eastern GOM: Boom or Bust? Joint Industry Association Luncheon" (PDF). The APInion. New Orleans, LA: American Petroleum Institute, Delta Chapter. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  7. Anonymous (2010). "Dr. Chris Oynes". GulfBase. GulfBase. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  8. Eilperin, Juliet (18 May 2010). "Independent Probe of BP Oil Spill in Works". Washington Post. Washington, DC: Washington Post. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  9. Mulligan, James S. (September 2011). "Case Study: Minerals Management Service" (PDF). Burlington, VT: Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security, James M. Jeffords Center, University of Vermont. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  10. Natural Gas Intelligence (31 July 2006). "MMS Official: Missing Lease Price Thresholds a 'Serious Mistake'". Natural Gas Intelligence. Sterling, VA: Natural Gas Intelligence. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  11. Ivanovich, David (14 September 2006). "Government oil lease blunder hidden 6 years: Investigator says mistake cost taxpayers billions of dollars". Houston Chronicle. Houston, TX: Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  12. Heersink, Emily (2008). "Royalty Robbery: How Statutory Supremacy and the "Christian" Doctrine Require Oil Companies to Pay Royalties on Leases Missing the Deep Water Royalty Relief Price Threshold Clause". Public Contract Law Journal. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association. 37 (2): 319. JSTOR 25755455.
  13. Dickinson, Tim (8 June 2010). "The Spill, The Scandal and the President". Rolling Stone. New York, NY: Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  14. DeParle, Jason (7 August 2010). "Minerals Service Had a Mandate to Produce Results". The New York Times. New York, NY: The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  15. Newhouse News Service (19 January 2007). "U.S. official faults 'bureaucratic bungling' for oil-royalty losses". Sun Journal. Lewiston, ME: Sun Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  16. Strickler, Laura (18 January 2007). "More on oil lease royalties: It's the cover up, not the $10 billion dollar mistake". CBS News. New York, NY: CBS News. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  17. Rieland, Randy (19 May 2010). "10 ways MMS makes FEMA look good". Grist. Seattle, WA: Grist. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  18. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (5 February 2007). "Chris Oynes Named Associate Director of the MMS Offshore Program" (PDF). Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  19. Federal oversight of oil industry is broken: An editorial (The Times-Picayune, May 16, 2010)
  20. St. Clair, Jeffrey; Frank, Joshua (2018). The Big Heat: Earth on the Brink. Edinburgh: AK Press. ISBN 9781849353373. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  21. Cousins, Farron (14 January 2011). "What Was Missing From the Oil Spill Commission's Report". DeSmog. Washington, DC: DeSmog. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  22. Urbina, Ian (24 May 2010). "Inspector General's Inquiry Faults Regulators". The New York Times. New York, NY: The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  23. Burka, Paul (July 2010). "Oil and Water". Texas Monthly. Austin, TX: Texas Monthly. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  24. Sullivan, Eilleen; Daly, Matthew (17 May 2010). "MMS drilling official retires in oil spill fallout". The San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego, CA: The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  25. Anonymous (17 May 2010). "Chris Oynes, MMS Official, To Step Down In Wake Of Gulf Oil Spill". Huffington Post. Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  26. Anonymous (17 May 2010). "Coast Guard Warn of Oil Spill Reaching Florida Coast". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  27. Center for Effective Government (18 May 2010). "Minerals Management Service Acted More like Agent than Regulator". Washington, DC: Center for Effective Government. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
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