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To
Our Guests:
 Welcome to our web site Thank you for taking the time to visit with
us.
On July 30, 2008, Interior Secretary Kempthorne
and I announced a major
new energy initiative for the nation's Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS). Today's action not only highlights the important role the OCS
plays in meeting America's energy needs -- it will also open
discussions across the country about how best to expand the nation's
domestic energy production.In light of the current energy situation and
President Bush’s lifting of the Executive Withdrawal, Secretary
Kempthorne directed the MMS to begin the initial steps for
developing a
new Five-Year Program. We are, in effect, getting a two-year
jumpstart on that process, but it is still a multi-step and
multi-year effort to develop the program.
The current Five-Year Program took effect on July
1, 2007 at a time when oil was only $64 a barrel and does not
contain many of the areas that were under Withdrawal and remain
under Congressional ban. Should the Congressional ban be lifted, a
new program would have to be developed to make those areas
available.
(07/31/2008) 
Randall Luthi,
Director
Minerals Management Service
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MMS Extends the Comment Period for Virginia Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sale 220 Call for Information and Notice of Intent
 WASHINGTON-Minerals Management Service (MMS) is extending the public comment period for the Call for Information and Interest/Nominations and Notice of Intent (Call/NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for initial information gathering for a proposed OCS Lease Sale 220 offshore Virginia.
The Call/Notice of Intent was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2008 and the comment period was scheduled to close on December 29, 2008. Due to the holiday season, MMS believes it is reasonable to grant a 15-day extension of the current comment period for all commenters. Therefore, the comment period is extended until January 13, 2009.
(12/19/2008)
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MMS
Issues 4th Quarter Edition of Ocean Science Journal:
The MMS
Environmental Studies Program Has Funded More than 600
Million Dollars of Marine Environmental Research Offshore
 NEW ORLEANS
–
This quarter’s edition
of
Ocean Science
(1.06
MB PDF File) covers the gamut of
environmental activities in which MMS is involved.
In
this issue MMS emphasizes the importance of its partnerships,
through which multidisciplinary research projects, cooperative
agreements, and joint projects with other agencies, governments, and
industry are made possible. These collaborations result in
invaluable studies. Highlights in this issue include sea otter
research, loop current dynamics, deepwater corals, and alternative
energy infrastructure needs.
MMS Ocean Science Archives
(12/15/2008)
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Hurricane
Gustav/Hurricane Ike Activity Statistics Update – December
16, 2008:
Minerals Management Service Monitors
Activities for Both Storms Through its Continuity of
Operations Plan
 NEW
ORLEANS
Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico
are reboarding platforms and restoring production following both
Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike. The Minerals Management Service
is monitoring activities for both hurricanes through its Continuity
of Operations Plan team. This team will be activated until
operations return to normal.
Based on data from offshore
operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. CDT today,
personnel are evacuated from a total of 45 production
platforms, equivalent to 6.5% of the 694 manned platforms in
the Gulf of Mexico. Production platforms are the structures
located offshore from which oil and natural gas are
produced. These structures remain in the same location
throughout a project’s duration unlike drilling rigs which
typically move from location to location.
There are no longer any evacuated rigs in the Gulf. Rigs can
include several types of self-contained offshore drilling
facilities including jackups, submersibles and
semisubmersibles. (12/16/2008)
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MMS
Earns Highest Opinion from Independent Review
Peer Review Examines Quality of Federal Audits
 An
independent review of the MMS auditing program resulted in
no significant findings, earning the bureau the highest
rating that can be rendered.
The peer review, conducted by
the firm of Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio & Associates, covered
the period from Jan. 1, 2005, through May 31, 2008, and
examined the internal controls associated with audits
performed by MMS of royalty payments made to the government
by the energy industry.(12/16/2008)
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Interior’s MMS Disburses Record $23.4
Billion in FY 2008:
State Share From Energy Production
Hits New High of $2.59 Billion
 Secretary
of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced that
Interior’s Minerals Management Service had distributed a
record $23.4 billion to state, American Indian and federal
accounts from onshore and offshore energy production during
Fiscal Year 2008.
Kempthorne said the record
disbursements from royalties, rents, and bonuses shattered
the 2007 total of $11.6 billion, far surpassing the previous
record of $12.8 billion disbursed in FY 2006. (11/20/2008)
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Minerals Management Service Updates Number
of Offshore Facilities Impacted by Hurricane Ike:
Confirmation of
Destruction and Damage Reports from Offshore Operators Continues
NEW ORLEANS Offshore operators continue to
report damage from Hurricane Ike to the Minerals Management Service
(MMS) Gulf of Mexico Regional Office. This information is compiled
and used by MMS staff in reviewing and approving repair plans
submitted by the oil and gas operators in order to resume oil and
gas production from the Gulf of Mexico.
MMS estimates that from September 13, 2008 through
September 14, 2008, approximately 1,450 oil and gas production
platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were exposed to hurricane
conditions, winds greater than 74 miles per hour. As of August 2008,
there were more than 3,800 production platforms in the Gulf of
Mexico; these structures range in size from single well caissons in
water depths of ten feet to a large complex facility in water depth
greater than 7,000 feet.
Offshore Infrastructure Destroyed – As of
October 6, 2008, 54 of the 3,800 offshore oil and gas production
platforms have been confirmed as destroyed. Initial estimates are
that the 54 destroyed production platforms produced a total of
13,300 barrels of oil per day and 90 million cubic feet of gas per
day. (10/07/2008) |
MMS
Completes Assessment of Destroyed and Damaged Facilities
from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike:
Number of Destroyed Platforms Exceeds Number from Hurricane Katrina
 Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Regional Office staff have completed the assessment of destroyed and damaged facilities from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The assessment was conducted in coordination with the oil and gas operators who report the status of their production platforms to MMS following a storm.
MMS estimates that approximately 2,127 oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were exposed to hurricane conditions, with winds greater than 74 miles per hour, from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. As of August 2008, there were more than 3,800 production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico; these structures range in size from single well caissons in water depths of ten feet to a large complex facility in water depth greater than 7,000 feet.
(11/26/2008)
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