FOR RELEASE: December 14, 1995               CONTACT: Tom DeRocco
                                                   (202) 208-3985


              MMS SERVICES AFFECTED UNDER SHUT-DOWN
                                 

     Each day, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals
Management Service (MMS), provides service to customers including
offshore operators, royalty payors, Indian Tribes and Allottees,
38 States, and the U.S. taxpayers.   In a government shut-down,
each is impacted.   

     "Every day, MMS employees work to assure that we're managing
the public's natural gas, oil and mineral resources in the most
efficient way possible through the oversight and inspection of
offshore operations to ensure protection of the environment and
operator safety,  timely response to industry requests for
permits.  We are also responsible for assuring the prompt and
accurate collection, verification and distribution of what
averages to be $17 million in revenues each day," said MMS
Director Cynthia Quarterman.

     During a typical day in the Royalty Management Program, MMS
collects and processes on average  $17 million of which $400,000
is distributed to the Indian Trust Fund at the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) for payment to 29 Indian Tribes and 20,000
Allottees, approximately $2 million is distributed to the 38
States with mineral production on Federal lands, and the
remainder to the U.S. Treasury.  An average of 205 checks and 35
wire transfers are received and processed, some 50 bills are
issued to royalty payors for funds due, an average of 5 refunds 
are provided to royalty payors, and audit activities and other
compliance endeavors collect an average of $1 million.

     On a daily basis in the Offshore Program, MMS issues an
environmental assessment of ongoing production activities,
processes 5 air quality reviews, performs 3 reviews of operator
oil spill contingency plans, completes 15 to 20 inspections of
offshore drilling and production platforms for incidents of
non-compliance with regulations,  processes 12 lease assignments,
terminates 2 leases, and provides services and information to
50-60 visitors to our public information offices.

     Under a shut-down, a skeleton crew of personnel will be on
the job to respond to emergency situations involving life
threatening or pollution events and to receive and deposit in
interest bearing accounts the revenues from royalty payors.

     MMS is the federal agency that manages the nation's natural
gas, oil and other mineral resources on the federal Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS), and collects and disburses about $4
billion yearly in revenues from offshore federal mineral leases
and from onshore mineral leases on federal and Indian lands.  The
OCS is responsible for about 23 percent of our nation's domestic
natural gas production and 14 percent of our oil.

                              -MMS-