ExxonMobil Production Company

Nominated by: Maxie Lambert, Supervisory Inspector, Lafayette District, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Mr. Steve Brooks is a graduate petroleum engineer from the University of Tennessee. Mr. Brooks' employment with ExxonMobil Corporation, including military [U.S. Army] time totals thirty-three (33) years. He started his career with Exxon in marketing, with the last nineteen years in various engineering/management positions associated with offshore production operations. Mr. Brooks' current position with ExxonMobil Corporation is Senior Regulatory Compliance Engineer.

Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton, Steve Brooks, and Acting MMS Director Thomas R. Kitsos

Mr. Brooks currently co-chairs the Deepstar Regulatory Committee. This group of offshore operators has shared in the development of a safe, economic agenda for deepwater operations that has impacted MMS's current Deep Water Operation Plan. Also, Mr. Brooks and the Deepstar Committee are active in the Floating Production Storage and Offloading, Environmental Impact Study.

As chair the Offshore Operators' Committee (OOC), Mr. Brooks reviews and submits comments and recommendations on MMS Advanced Notices of Proposed Rulemaking. The OOC's most recent reviews of the regulations laid the groundwork for a Notice to Lessees regarding casing pressure.

Mr. Brooks also chairs the American Petroleum Institute's Recommended Practice (RP) 2D Committee. This group partnered with the MMS in rewriting RP2D, which addresses practices, procedures, standards, qualifications, goals and objectives for crane operations and maintenance. He also chairs another API committee, RP 14 C 7th Edition, which involves the design, maintenance and safe operations of an offshore platform.

Mr. Brooks continues to be recognized by his peers as the oil industry's contact with the MMS concerning ongoing initiatives toward fair, firm and consistent onsite inspections to provide for the safety of personnel and operations. Based on his initiatives and support toward safe offshore development, I recommend that he be considered as a potential recipient of the Corporate Leadership Award for 2000.