Earlier this week, we reported on allegations made by six former Anadarko employees who say the oil and gas giant demonstrated a pattern of ignoring safety concerns in the years, months and weeks leading up to last year’s fatal explosion of a home in Firestone. Among those speaking out in a class-action lawsuit are the company’s former longtime chief lobbyist, Chris Castilian, and its former longtime spokeswoman, Robin Olsen – both of whom say Anadarko has lost its credibility when it comes to safety and corporate citizenship. Olsen is cited in the lawsuit saying that when she urged her boss to address safety concerns, he told her to “keep quiet” and “shovel shit.”
Indy Editor Susan Greene broke the story and spoke with KGNU’s News Director Maeve Conran about what these allegations mean for Anadarko’s operations in Colorado, for the broader oil and gas industry, for the state agency tasked with regulating oil and gas operations, and for this year’s gubernatorial election. At issue, Susan says, is whether Anadarko has met its end of the social contract it has in our state and how much uncertainty folks in its gas patch are living with. Also in question is the extent to which the company and its high-paid proxies are set on trying to avoid increased regulations and block U.S. Rep Jared Polis, a longtime fracking critic, from becoming governor. Here’s the audio…
