The Obama administration replaced the Minerals Management Service, faulted for lax regulation of offshore drilling before the BP Plc spill last month, with three offices to oversee leases, drilling safety and fee collection. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed an order today creating the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue. President Barack Obama said on May 15 that he would end the ‘cozy relationship’ between companies that drill for oil and gas and the Minerals Management Service, part of the Interior Department. Its track record has been scrutinized since the BP well blew up on April 20, killing 11 workers and creating an oil spill that continues to spread toward Gulf Coast states from Louisiana to Florida. ‘Theses three missions — energy development, enforcement and revenue collection — are conflicting missions and must be separated,’ Salazar said on a conference call with reporters. ‘So today I’m ordering the division of MMS into three distinct entities.’ The MMS generates about $13 billion a year for the U.S. Treasury by partnering with companies such as BP and Exxon Mobil Corp. to develop oil and natural gas, […]