My name is Carol and I am a staff petroleum engineer, GS-13, in the Regional Office of Resource Evaluation, Reserves Section. I earned a B.S. degree in petroleum engineering from Mississippi State University. My first semester of college, I wasn't quite sure what area of discipline I wanted to pursue. I soon realized that I was strongest in math and science courses, and an engineering degree became the logical choice. Engineering offered a bright future with interesting and challenging job opportunities. I have been with the MMS since 1984 and have had many exciting experiences.

In my first position, I worked in the Pipelines and Platforms Section. This job took me offshore numerous times to make inspections of pipeline installations and also to monitor the removal of offshore platforms. Since high-powered explosives are used in the removal of offshore platforms, environmental concerns for protecting endangered marine life, especially the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, became apparent. Guidelines and procedures had to be developed to ensure that all removals were performed in the safest manner. It was very satisfying being involved in such an important project, helping to provide the proper balance between offshore operations and protecting marine environments.

In 1991, I transferred to the Reserves Section. In this job, I do field studies with other engineers, geologists, and geophysicists to locate and estimate the size of oil and gas reservoirs. I work with geologic maps, well logs, and production data. I also make sure every new completion or workover of a well is placed in a reservoir and has a reserve estimate. Maintaining reservoir information, stored in an interactive computer database, is a very important part of this job because it ensures accurate oil and gas resource estimates for the Gulf of Mexico. I enjoy my job at MMS and it is exciting to know that I am part of the Agency that manages the Nation's natural gas and oil resources for the Gulf of Mexico.

I have been working for MMS for 13 years and have been involved in many interesting and challenging projects such as the design and implementation of what is called the Liquid Verification System (LVS). LVS is a system that verifies the volume of oil/condensate on which MMS collects monies from the oil companies. Currently, I am a reviewing officer for the Civil Penalty Program. Whenever a company commits a violation that involves a threat to the environment, property, or life, a civil penalty case is initiated. I review these case files for penalty appropriateness and amount. Companies can be fined up to $20,000 per violation per day.

I also investigate major accidents offshore. Depending on the impact of the accident, the investigation can include trips to the scene, interviews with witnesses, hearings, and a report that identifies the cause of the accident and preventive measures to keep the accident from recurring. These reports are made available to all companies so they learn from what happened. The Civil Penalty and Accident Investigation Programs exist to encourage safe offshore operations in the oil and gas industry. It is very rewarding work to know that what you do prevents accidents.

I have worked in northern Virginia for a consulting company as a geological engineer and in Colorado, Alaska, and Nevada as a mining engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the Bureau of Land Management. I have held my current position as a petroleum engineer since joining MMS in 1996. My main responsibilities include writing approval letters for changes in the commingling, measurement, and allocation procedures at offshore locations.

In my first position, as a physical science technician, GS-4, I assisted petroleum engineers and geologists in the evaluations of offshore oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. Working with well data, maps, logs, and production data interested me in a career as a petroleum engineer. Returning to school in my off-hours, I soon met the qualifications to become a petroleum engineer. Using a Government program called Upward Mobility, I applied for an engineering position and was selected. I also pursued graduate courses in petroleum engineering that specifically related to the conservation and evaluation work done at MMS.

As a petroleum engineer in the Reserves Section, I evaluated reservoir properties for the structural features the geologists identified and mapped as containing oil and gas accumulations. These properties, when combined with the mapped volumes, result in resource and reserves estimates. This work is always challenging and varies from day to day. As my experience progressed, I also performed detailed geologic evaluations. I participated in the development of computer databases to store and retrieve reserve data by designing screen layouts and providing formulas. These initial databases have evolved into a sophisticated, complex, and interactive computer system storing data on more than 14,000 leases, 34,000 boreholes, 48,000 completions, 1,100 fields, 25,000 reservoirs, and 4.6 million production records, as well as many other types of data.

In my current position, I exercise direct supervisory responsibility over 11 professionals: 2 petroleum engineers, 2 geophysicists, 6 geologists, and 1 economist. I plan, direct, coordinate, and evaluate this multi- disciplinary staff. I also provide guidance to ensure all section goals and missions are effectively completed in a timely manner. My staff also works on many other diversified assignments. This is a very rewarding job with many benefits and every day presents new challenges. I have enjoyed my career with the Government and look forward to many more years at MMS as we move into the 21st century.

Upon graduating from college, I began working in the Reserves Section of Resource Evaluation as a petroleum engineer. In that job, I worked with other engineers, geologists, and geophysicists to accurately assess the resources and reserves in the Gulf of Mexico OCS oil and gas fields by using detailed knowledge of geologic, petrophysical, engineering, and computer principles. This job involved working with geologic maps (which were produced by the geologists and geophysicists), making sure that all wells and completions were incorporated into the proper reservoirs, analyzing well logs in order to determine reservoir characteristics, using production data to predict the ultimate recoverable oil and gas per reservoir, sand, and field, and using a complex interactive computer system to integrate all of this critical data.

After six years in the Reserves Section, I transferred to my current job in the Resource & Economic Analysis Unit of the Geological and Geophysical Section of Resource Evaluation. One of the primary functions of our unit is to perform the engineering and economic evaluation of tracts for OCS Lease Sales. To evaluate a lease sale tract you use the same basic principles and procedures as in the Reserves Section, but you go several steps further by projecting both the ultimate number of wells and platforms that will be necessary to fully develop and produce a tract, and when you think that they will be installed. Once those steps are complete, you use a sophisticated engineering and economics computer model to schedule and cost all facility installations and production, and then to calculate the fair market value of the tract. This fair market value is used to ensure that the Government (in reality, all of us taxpayers) receives a fair price for allowing the oil companies to drill, operate, and produce on Federal lands.

In addition to the tract evaluations, I am quite often involved in other projects which incorporate the engineering and economic evaluation of resources. One of the major projects that I have been involved with is The 1995 Assessment of Conventionally Recoverable Hydrocarbon Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. This study is similar to tract evaluations in basic assessment techniques, but differs in scope since it is a play level assessment, and each play consists of numerous pools or tracts. Another quite different project for which I am responsible is preparing the resource estimates and the exploration and development scenarios on which the environmental impact statements for future OCS lease sales are based.

My job is a fulfilling one, with almost daily challenges to guarantee that I will never be bored with my work. My career with MMS has been an exhilarating one, and I look forward to many more years of opportunities to serve our Nation.

I joined MMS in 1996 and have thoroughly enjoyed my work. I am currently testing the "Events" component of the TIMS (Technical Information Management System) interactive database. The "Events" component deals with spills and accidents occurring anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico Region. I anticipate learning more about the Civil Penalty Program and venturing offshore to platforms and rigs to become more knowledgeable about operations in the field. Even though I just recently became part of MMS, I look forward to many exciting years of working for the Government.

I transferred to the Surface Commingling & Production Measurement Section in 1987 as a GS-7 engineer. I took additional geology and petroleum engineering courses in order to meet the requirements of the petroleum engineering classification. While in the Production Approval Unit, I wrote letters to oil companies approving the commingling, allocation, and measurement of oil and gas into the various pipeline and barging transportation systems throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Transferring to the Production Verification Unit, I helped implement the Liquid Verification System (LVS), which is an integrated system of manual and automated processes that serve to verify the liquid hydrocarbon royalty volumes reported to the MMS by the holders of offshore Federal leases. Using LVS, I assisted in verifying an average of 30 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbon production every month. In my current position, I still work with the measurement aspect of Federal oil and gas production but I am now responsible for establishing the Facility Measurement Point numbers to which the lessees must report their production to our Royalty Management Program office in Denver.

Over my 27 years of Federal service I have met and worked with many dedicated and really nice people, both within the Government and in the petroleum industry, and I can say that I have truly loved every job I have ever held. This is an exciting time to work for MMS because of the new initiatives occurring in the industry and the challenges all Federal employees are faced with in helping to streamline the Government. I am proud to say that I work for the Federal Government and especially for the Minerals Management Service.

I first came to work for the MMS Pacific Region in 1988. While in California I conducted the technical review of plans submitted by the oil industry for the exploration and development of offshore tracts. Part of my job included coordinating with State and local agencies to ensure the company's plan was consistent with the State's coastal zone plan. I also worked with the American Petroleum Institute in the development of guidelines, called "Recommended Practices (RP)," for the seismic reassessment of platforms. In California platforms must be able to withstand a 1,000-year earthquake without collapse. In order to obtain ground motion data from earthquakes, I coordinated a research project, supported by MMS, called the Seafloor Earthquake Measurement System (SEMS). SEMS units were imbedded into the seafloor adjacent to three of the offshore platforms to measure ground motion at the platform site. This data will be used to more accurately describe ground motion experienced by offshore platforms during an earthquake. Previously, all data used offshore had been extrapolated from onshore sites. The RP developed in California will be used in the Gulf of Mexico to ensure that platforms can withstand certain wind and wave forces caused by storms and hurricanes.

In 1995 I transferred to the MMS Gulf of Mexico Region where I conduct the technical review of applications for the installation, modification, and abandonment of all pipelines. I coordinate with other groups within MMS, including the environmental and geophysical groups, during the review process.

Shortly after graduation, I began seeking employment with MMS. While waiting for this appointment, I worked for a short time as a substitute school teacher and then accepted a civil engineering position with J.Ray McDermott, working as a project engineer on the redesign of jackup drilling rigs and derrick barges. In 1984, I accepted a petroleum engineering position with MMS, Gulf of Mexico Region in New Orleans. I have now been employed by MMS for 13 years. My position requires that I have a complete knowledge of offshore oil and gas operations and skills in interpreting and applying Federal laws and regulations. I have served on the American Petroleum Institute's Executive Board and I am a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. For several years, I have served on the regional Equal Employment Opportunity Special Emphasis Committee and I have been its Hispanic program coordinator. As a Native American petroleum engineer, I have represented MMS at conferences of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

I also worked with other major oil companies before graduating. As an engineering technician in an offshore design and construction group, I assisted in evaluating the structural design of offshore platforms and structures by considering a multitude of parameters affecting them, including wave impact and weight loading. I tracked the various developmental stages of these structures from fabrication to installation. My duties included running MOMS (Meteorological and Oceanographic Monitoring System), a program designed to provide offshore personnel with timely weather conditions. This was the first oil field hurricane/storm monitoring system. In another assignment, I organized data from worldwide locations.

After obtaining my master's degree, I accepted a position with an oil field research company performing sand control analysis by designing specific remedies for individual wells in order to minimize sand production. I was instrumental in developing a vastly new technology, which was designed to fracture, via high pressure, a productive formation with a resin-coated proppant (sand) in order to contact a larger area of the reservoir by creating a filter, thus drastically increasing overall production. I designed these specific types of fracture treatments for individual wells in worldwide locations. In 1993, I joined the Reserves Section of MMS where I manage reserve and reservoir data from the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast.