Mammoth reveals government memos defending its work in Puerto Rico hurricane

 

Oklahoma-based Mammoth Energy Services, Inc. announced that it has posted to its website additional information related to its work in Puerto Rico, work that was carried out following the September 2017  hurricane Maria that devastated the island territory.

It was the company’s latest effort defending the performance of the work its crews did in restoring power to the island. Mammoth Energy had been accused of overcharging the U.S. government for its work.

In the latest posting, Mammoth pointed to a Federal Emergency Management Agency memo dated April 22, 2019 which the company recently obtained. The memo refers to work performed by Cobra Acquisitions LLC for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and noted the contract rates were reasonable.

“Today, we release a fourth confirmation that the PREPA contract was awarded in compliance with applicable procurement rules and that the rates were reasonable,” stated Arty Straehla, chief executive officer of Mammoth.

He added that the memo adds to previous confirmations including a Dec. 23, 2017 FEMA Determination Memorandum.

“The documentation continues to show that our team performed a difficult job in a difficult environment to save lives and aid the people of Puerto Rico in their time of need.”

The newly-discovered memo was by FEMA regional administrator Thomas Von Essen in a draft report prepared by the Office of Inspector General. The OIG had investigated Cobra’s contract with PREPA.

The memo concluded PREPA had awarded the contract in compliance with the emergency procurement provision of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

It also stated that the contract rates were “reasonable” when compared with other proposals available to PREPA at the time.

Cobra signed a $200 million contract in October 2017 with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to begin making electrical power repairs. Amendments eventually increased the contract amount t o nearly $945.4 million. Then in March 2018, Cobra signed a second contract worth $900 million.