Pacific OCS Revenue Facts

The Mineral Management Service's Minerals Revenue Management is responsible for the collection and disbursement of revenue collected from the leasing and development of the Nation's onshore and offshore mineral resources. You can find data by State for Section 8(g) OCS Lands Act Fund disbursements.

Revenue from the offshore oil and gas program -- royalties, rents, and bonuses -- is used to the benefit of the country in many different ways.  On average, approximately two-thirds of the revenue goes to the general fund of the United States Treasury to help pay for government programs and services. States also receive a portion of the revenue collected from offshore oil and gas activity within a band that is 3 to 6 miles off their shore, as specified in section 8(g) of the OCS Lands Act. In California, this activity takes place on the OCS adjacent to the counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange. 

The remaining third of the revenue is provided to one of two funds:

• The Land and Water Conservation Fund helps Federal, State and local governments acquire and develop parklands and recreation projects.  Between 70 and 90 percent of the Fund Disbursements provided are from OCS mineral revenues. In 1997, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt identified the basic intent of the Fund as to "devote revenue from one public resource, oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf, to the perpetuation of another public resource, outdoor recreation lands at the federal, state, and local levels."
  
• The National Historic Preservation Fund to help protect and preserve the finest examples of America's cultural heritage.  OCS contributions to the National Historic Preservation Fund have totaled over $700 million.