FOR RELEASE: January 19, 1993           CONTACT: Tom DeRocco
                                             (202) 208-3983
(Special Information)
      MMS CLARIFIES PROCESS FOR RECOUPMENTS OF OVERPAYMENTS
          BY OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF OPERATORS (#30003)

     WASHINGTON -- Minerals Management Service Director Scott
Sewell today added two sets of circumstances to a list of six
outlined in 1991 in which Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) payors can
recoup overpaid royalties without undergoing lengthy procedures.

     The move is aimed at providing guidance for the domestic
natural gas and oil industry and to make sure the spirit and letter
of the law are met.

     Today's action spells out situations in which operators can
recover overpaid royalties which are not subject to Section 10 of
teh OCS Lands Act of 1953.  That section imposes several
requirements on the Interior Department and on those seeking
refunds or desiring credits to recoup previous overpayments.  Those
requirements include written requests by the payor giving the
reasons for the refund or credit, notification of the request by
the Secretary of the Interior to both Houses of Congress and strict
deadlines for the payors to request repayments.  The Solicitor of
the Interior Department recently issued guidance confirming the
Section 10 does not apply to the situations cited today, nor to
those announced previously.

     Today's announcement, Sewell said, is in line with policies
MMS has followed consistently.  The agency has aimed to help the
U.S. energy industry comply fully with the law and remain as
productive as it can at the lowest possible cost, while assuring
that the environment is protected and enhanced.

                              -MMS-
Subject: PR-01/19/93 Recoupments/MMS Clarifies Process for
Recoupments of Ovrpymnts by OCS Operators (#30003)