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Judge accepts settlement; Noble sentenced $12.2M includes $8.2M fine and $4M in community service payments, 4-year probation, with environmental comprehensive plan required Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Noble Drilling (U.S.) LLC was sentenced Dec. 19 in federal court in Anchorage for eight felony environmental and maritime crimes.
Chief Judge Ralph R. Beistline accepted the plea agreement entered into by the parties earlier in December, sentencing Noble consistent with that agreement (see story in Dec. 14 issue of Petroleum News).
In a Dec. 19 press release the office of the U.S. Attorney for the district of Alaska said sentencing was for eight felony environmental and maritime crimes arising out of the company’s operation of the drill ship Noble Discoverer and the drilling unit Kulluk in Alaska in 2012 when Noble was operating under a contract with Shell.
Sentencing included payment of $12.2 million in fines and community service payments and a four-year probation during which time Noble must implement a comprehensive environmental compliance plan. Noble Corp. plc, Noble’s London-based parent corporation, agreed to implement an environmental management system for all mobile offshore drilling units owned or operated by Noble and its direct and indirect subsidiaries worldwide.
The $12.2 million included $4 million in community service payments: $2.5 million to the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; $1 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Alaskan Arctic Fund; and $500,000 to the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States. The funds will be used for research and projects designed to study and/or benefit the Arctic and/or the natural resources or wildlife near Alaska.
Whistleblower award The court also ordered that $512,500 of the $8.2 million fine be awarded to the whistleblower in the case. The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships provides that the court may award as much as half of a fine imposed for conviction under that statute to the person providing information leading to conviction.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office had notified the court that an individual had provided information leading to Noble’s conviction on Count 1 of the information, and had requested that one-half of the fine for that count go to that individual.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the award provision in the act “serves a valuable law enforcement purpose by encouraging those most likely to know of the illegal conduct to report it and cooperate with law enforcement. Because the discharge of oily waste typically takes place in the middle of the ocean in international waters, the only persons likely to know about the conduct and the falsification of the (ship’s records) are the crew members.”
The office said without crew members coming forward, violations of the act “are otherwise extremely difficult to uncover.” While success in detecting illegal activity and obtaining evidence “is dependent upon the willingness of a crew member to step forward,” crew members, in turn, must “assess the risks associated with coming forward,” including the possibility of losing employment and being blacklisted from working in the marine shipping industry.
Investigators The Noble convictions were the result of a joint investigation between the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska and the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section.
Noble as convicted of five counts of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, one count of violating the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act and two counts of violating the Ports and Waterways Safety Act. Seven of the counts are for Noble’s operation of the Noble Discoverer, one count for operation of the Kulluk.
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