U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Region, announces the availability of all releasable paleontological information in the Gulf of Mexico on one CD-ROM (CD), in both ASCII and PDF formats. This CD includes all releasable paleontological data from January 1, 1947, through September 1, 1997. Over fourteen thousand reports (14,921 pages) are in these ASCII-formated 10+MB (with Lat/Lon and X/Y cooridinates) and PDF-formatted 40 MB files. In addition, a list of all paleontological information recommended for release and the reasons for releasability and a second list of all paleontological information not recommended for release and the reasons are included in PDF format. A text file for the ASCII file layout and an instruction file in PDF format are also included. The data used to develop the file was extracted from the MMS Gulf of Mexico Region Paleontological Information Computer System and contains both MMS and industry reports. Releasability of this geoscientific data is in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations.

The paleontological information is a valuable tool used in exploration and development of hydrocarbons on Federal lands. In addition to identifying the age of production and correlation of strata between wells, these data are used to evaluate the environment in which the sediments were deposited, and thus indicate the potential for hydrocarbon reservoir and source rocks.

The addition of Lat/Lon and X/Y coordinates for each well location and the ASCII format greatly increase the geoscientific applications for this information. The paleontological data can now be incorporated into other databases, plotted on base maps, and used to generate Biostratigraphic/Ecologic contours maps.The CD also includes the Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing the PDF files. The minimum system requirements are 486 or higher IBM or compatible computer with Windows 3.1 or 95 and 8 megabytes of RAM.

This announcement of the release of 50 years of paleontological information on CD is made in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of offshore drilling. These data are offered to MMS customers in user-friendly formats as tools for future exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico. Technical comments and questions should be directed to Minerals Management Service, Resource Evaluation Office, David W. Cooke (504) 736-2609 or Gay H. Larré (504) 736-2719.

This MMS CD will be available October 15, 1997 for a cost of $15.00.

Orders should be directed to:

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region
Office of Public Information (MS 5034)
1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard
New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394
Phone (504) 736-2519
1-800-200-GULF

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 disburses about $4 billion yearly in revenues from Federal offshore leases and Federal and Indian onshore mineral leases.