FOR RELEASE:  October 3, 1994                 CONTACT:  Lee Scurry
                                                    (202) 208-3983
                                                           or
                                                    Barney Congdon
                                                    (504) 736-2595

         LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY RECEIVES $2 MILLION 
              TO CONDUCT ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (#40072)

       The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management
Service (MMS) has awarded $1,589,865 to Louisiana State University
(LSU), Petroleum Engineering Department, and $651,197 in matching
funds to LSU under the Coastal Marine Institute (CMI) program to
conduct a variety of environmental studies, MMS officials announced
today.

       "LSU's Petroleum Engineering Department will investigate and
improve methods for prevention, early detection, remediation, and
post analysis of underground blowouts that occur in a marine
environment," said MMS Acting Director Cynthia Quarterman.

       "Under the CMI program, since 1992 MMS has contributed more
than $3.5 million to support 24 research studies at LSU and other
Louisiana universities," Quarterman said. 
MMS funding is matched by the university.

       "The CMI program is a model example of how a combined effort
between state and federal agencies can strengthen our scientific
and environmental knowledge, and greatly enhance the decisionmaking
process," she said.

       MMS administers federal offshore mineral programs and
manages the federal mineral royalty collection program.

       The MMS Environmental Studies Program has funded more than
$600 million in scientific research, including socioeconomic,
biological, and marine habitat studies, since 1974.  More than 90
percent of these studies are performed under cooperative agreements
with state and federal research organizations, academic
institutions, and private industry.

                              -MMS-

Subject: PR-10/3/94 LSU CMI/Louisiana State University Receives $2M
to Conduct Environmental Studies (#40072)