OCS Connect: The OCS Connect Vision...

To increase operational efficiency and better serve MMS stakeholders-employees, citizens, industry, and other government agencies-through customized, secure electronic information exchange.

The OCS Connect Project Returns to New Orleans

The OCS Connect Project Management Office (PMO) staff has settled into its new interim office space in New Orleans. New contact information for the PMO in New Orleans is available online.

Benefits to Stakeholders
Citizens s Industry s Government Agencies s Employees

The OCS Connect project will change the manner in which OMM delivers its mission. By moving to on-line service delivery, our organization will be more "connected" to our stakeholders. OCS Connect will:

	Maximize citizen involvement by delivering essential information and receiving input via the Internet
	Streamline mission delivery by automating major business transactions and providing 'digital' data management, resulting in more timely decisions.
	Simplify and unify government by minimizing redundant reporting, and streamlining government interactions with industry and the public
	Leverage industry best practices by using common oil and gas standards and solutions (e.g., data model, exchange standards)

To learn more about the transformation activities, click here: Go to Transformation Activities.

Public Connect was the first interactive, on-line system released as part of the OCS Connect project. Public Connect gives citizens the ability to electronically submit their comments on OMM regulatory and planning information that is open for comment in the Federal Register. Interested parties can access the Public Connect system by clicking here: Go to Public Connect.

For more information on the OCS Connect project, please contact us by phone at 504-739-1360 or email us at OCSConnect@mms.gov.

What is OCS Connect?

The OCS Connect project is a phased, multi-year, electronic government (e-Government) transformation of MMS’s Offshore Minerals Management (OMM) Program. The blueprint for the OCS Connect project was developed in response to the increasing complexity of oil and gas operations, greater workloads, and the need for more sophisticated technical analyses and secure data exchange. Industry and public priorities were critical drivers for OMM’s e-Government initiative. So, to meet future mission requirements, encourage participation in the domestic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas programs, and to unite key stakeholders, OMM embarked upon a concerted effort to reform and streamline its business operations, and the project was appropriately named, OCS Connect.

OMM began planning the OCS Connect project in early 2001, completing an e-Government Transformation Foundational Study, Business Case, and Implementation Plan in 2002. During this planning stage, OMM identified business processes to be re-engineered, as well as the conditions and considerations supporting the transformation, and documented a baseline of its current internal and external business environment and areas for improvement. From this baseline, OMM began development of an appropriate Enterprise Architecture consisting of improved business processes that incorporate advances in information technology and industry “best practices.” When the project is complete, OMM will be equipped with the processes, tools, and technologies needed to better perform its work, and, therefore, better serve its customers.

The e-Government transformation will provide OMM, its customers, and stakeholders with secure electronic data exchange capabilities, improved operating efficiency, and the increased agility and flexibility to adjust to and meet future business conditions and demands. When complete, government agencies, industry, and citizens will benefit from expanded access, faster processing, and greater accuracy of the information required for decision-making, and OMM will realize additional operational benefits by developing secure electronic data exchange capabilities.

The magnitude of the OCS Connect effort warranted the establishment of a Project Management Office (PMO) to drive the project and oversee its success. The PMO is located in New Orleans, Louisiana, near the Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR) Office.