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

Department of the Interior Secretary Gale Norton to Hold Press Conference
Following Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 187

Who: Gale Norton, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior

What: Press Conference to announce the results of Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 187

When: Wednesday, August 20, 2003, at about 10:30 a.m. (immediately following the bid reading)

Where: The Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Grand Chenier, 500 Canal Street, New Orleans, La.

Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton will be in New Orleans on August 20 to attend Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 187.  The Secretary will open the sale at 9:00 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom with brief remarks.  Immediately following the bid reading (approximately 10:30 a.m.), she will conduct a press conference to discuss the results of the sale. In addition, the Secretary will take questions from the press corps.

Sale 187 encompasses about 22.3 million acres in the Western Gulf of Mexico OCS Planning Area offshore Texas and in deeper waters offshore Louisiana.  For more information about Sale 187, visit http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/lsesale/187/wgom187.html on the MMS website.

MMS is the Federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in Federal offshore waters.  The agency also collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian leases.  These revenues totaled over $6 billion in 2002 and nearly $127 billion since the agency was created in 1982.  Annually, nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the acquisition and development of state and Federal park and recreation lands.

MMS Main Website:  www.mms.gov
Gulf of Mexico Website:  www.gomr.mms.gov