A former BP contractor who filed a False Claims Act case against the company in 2009 now alleges that the design of the company’s Atlantis oil rig was never approved by registered engineers, as required under both federal regulations and its lease agreement with the federal government.  The whistleblower previously alleged that BP failed to maintain copies of “as built” drawings of the oil rig on board, a violation of federal regulations that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management stated did not cause any immediate threat to safety in a report issued last year.  BP reportedly “grew annoyed” with the contractor’s insistence that such documents be transferred onto the platform, according to the company’s ombudsman, a retired federal judge who substantiated the whistleblower’s complaints.  According to the new allegations, BP falsely certified to the Minerals Management Service in 2002 that the design for the Atlantis rig had been approved by registered engineers, although no such approval had been obtained.  Although the Minerals Management Service gave BP special permission to use unapproved drawings for part of the design, it did not have such a waiver for “the vast majority of the designs of major components.” According to the whistleblower, 95% of the engineering drawings lacked the necessary approval.

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