Chris
Oynes On February 5, 2007, former MMS Director Johnnie
Burton named Chris Oynes as the new Associate Director of the Offshore
Energy and Minerals Management Program. Oynes has served as the Regional Director of
the
Gulf of Mexico Region for the past 13 years.
“Chris Oynes brings to the position of Associate
Director a wealth of knowledge and experience about the practices and
processes of the Offshore Program as well as impressive leadership skills,”
said Burton. “His work has helped to make the OCS a major contributor to the
Nation’s energy and economic security” she continued, “and his solid
leadership was crucial to MMS Gulf of Mexico Region employees as well as
Gulf OCS energy operators before, during and after the devastating hurricane
seasons of 2004 and 2005.”
In the Gulf of Mexico
Region, Oynes managed the
leasing of OCS lands off five Gulf Coast states for oil, gas and
other mineral development, and supervised the regulation of operations and
protection of the environment on those leases, which involve more than 4,000
platforms. He managed a staff of 550, comprised of geologists,
geophysicists, petroleum engineers, biologists and environmental scientists.
Oynes has more than 30
years of Federal Government experience with energy matters, including 11
years in Washington, D.C. with MMS in various capacities, most notably as
Chief of the Lease Sale Planning Branch and the
Leasing Division. He served for seven years as the Deputy Regional
Director in the Gulf of Mexico before being named the Regional Director in
1995.
He has received the two
highest honor awards that the
U.S. Department of the Interior bestows--the Distinguished Service
Award and the Meritorious Service Award.
Oynes holds a BA in
Political Science from California State University at Fullerton and a Juris
Doctor Degree from George Washington University.
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Last Updated:
12/03/2008,
03:03:09 PM
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