To better understand what MMS does and why it is important, it is necessary to put the responsibilities of the agency into a broader context.  As you may know, the Federal Government owns a vast amount of land -- both onshore and offshore -- and these lands are managed for various purposes, including mineral production.  Offshore lands are known as OCS lands and are located outside State coastal waters.  Generally speaking, OCS lands begin 3 geographical miles offshore coastal States, except in the case of Texas and the west coast of Florida, where OCS lands begin 3 marine leagues (or approximately 10.3 miles) offshore.

A myriad of laws has been enacted that govern leasing, development, and production on Federal lands used for mineral production.  MMS’s role is to help carry out these Federal laws by ensuring that all monies derived from mineral leasing and production activities on Federal and Native American lands are collected, properly accounted for, and distributed.  In addition, MMS is both the resource manager and fiscal manager for the Nation’s important OCS mineral program. In that role, MMS handles everything from collecting and accounting for OCS revenues to leasing OCS lands, regulating development activities to protect the coastal and marine environment, and ensuring that when operations are completed, the site is properly abandoned.

MMS is the Federal Agency that manages the Nation’s oil and gas and other mineral resources on the OCS and collects, accounts for, and last year disbursed about $6 to $8 billion in revenues from Federal offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on Federal and Native American lands.

Why choose a career with MMS?

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