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OCS Scientific Committee Meeting Summary
MMS Director’s Report
Director Quarterman is advised by the Scientific Committee on studies and the
Environmental Studies Program. In this regard the Director tries to meet with the
Committee when possible and has an open dialogue with the members on MMS's mission related
activities and priorities as they relate to the studies program. full text
Director Quarterman congratulated Dr. Jim Coleman for his election as
chair of the Scientific Committee and to Dr. William Schroeder for his election as the
vice chair. She expressed MMS’s appreciation to Dr. Joanna Endter-Wada for the
excellent job she had done in her service as a member and ultimately, as chair of the OCS
Scientific Committee.
She commented on the copy of the October issue of Smithsonian Magazine which featured Dr.
Fred Grassle in an article on Rutger’s Coastal Ocean Monitoring System.
Ms. Sylvia Baca is now the acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals, and Dr. Tom
Kitsos is Deputy Director of MMS.
An excellent OCS Policy Committee meeting was held last month, and Dr. Donald Oltz, was
elected vice chairman.
MMS FY 1999 Budget Overview. MMS’s fiscal year 1999 budget is in
good shape. An increase of $4 million in base funding for the Environmental Studies
Program (ESP) and $3.5 million for additional personnel in the Gulf of Mexico Region has
been received. The $4 million for ESP makes permanent the one-time increase received in
the FY 1998 supplemental. MMS also received an unrequested increase of $600K to continue
funding for the Marine Mineral Resource Center at the University of Mississippi and $900K
for deepwater technology research at the Offshore Technology Research Center, a
partnership between Texas A&M University and the University of Texas. MMS-wide, a base
increase over FY 1998 of $15.4 million has been received.
National Oceanographic Partnership Program. In the Federal interagency
arena, the National Oceanographic Partnership Program continues to receive widespread
support in the Administration, on Capital Hill, and from the U.S. ocean community. The
research budget for FY 1999 is a respectable $10 million, and NOPP will fund projects in
the areas of data assimilation and modeling, and ocean sensors and sensing systems
technology.
With the appointment of the Ocean Research Advisory Panel by President Clinton this past
summer, all the NOPP components are now in place. The Panel held its first meeting on
September 9th at the White House Conference Center. Since this was the first meeting, it
was mostly an orientation session for the 15 members to bring them up to speed. The Panel
elected Dr. John Knauss, a former head of NOAA, as its chair and Dr. Bob Frosch, a former
head of NASA, as the vice chair. Dr. Vera Alexander, Director of the MMS-Alaska Coastal
Marine Institute, is a member of the Panel.
The Ocean Leadership Council met on October 26th. Some of the key actions approved were
the research program for FY 1999, extension of the Year of the Ocean drifter program for
an additional year, and a plan to address the need for a coordinated U.S. ocean observing
system which Congressmen Saxton and Weldon asked the Council to do in a letter dated
August 19, 1998.
The Secretary of the Navy and the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere were appointed
to second terms as the chair and vice-chair, respectively. At the meeting Navy Secretary
Dalton announced his resignation effective November 19. The President has nominated Navy
Under Secretary Robert Danzig to replace him.
Environmental Forum Overview. MMS held its first Environmental Forum in
conjunction with the April 1998 OCS Policy Committee meeting. Representatives from various
sectors of the ocean community were invited to discuss OCS issues, not to arrive at any
agreements or decisions, but to merely carry on a dialogue and listen to each others’
concerns and views.
The New Millennium. This Administration and the MMS are continually
working on meeting the responsibility to manage natural resources. President Clinton
announced at the National Ocean Conference that there are a series of major initiatives
the Administration is taking to “explore, protect and restore America’s vital
ocean resources.” Those initiatives include the withdrawal of certain areas of the
OCS from oil and gas leasing.
The President issued a directive that extended, until the year 2012, a leasing ban for
those offshore areas currently under moratoria. In addition, a permanent ban on new oil
and gas leasing in all marine sanctuaries was announced.
The Presidential directive, for the most part, does not affect current operations or
MMS’s existing 5-Year plan of lease sales. However, it will alter the development of
the program over the next two 5-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Programs.
The DOE’s new Comprehensive National Energy Strategy was released this past April.
One of the goals it set is to ensure against energy disruptions by increasing our
production of domestic sources, a necessary step to just try to maintain today’s
parity of domestic production and foreign imports.
It is in this context that MMS must plan for the future and the role the OCS will play in
meeting growing energy needs.
The Future Outlook. An Overview--- Industry predictions indicate
that oil demand growth will be weaker over the next 10 years than it has been for the past
decade. Increasing global oil production capacity will ensure that crude oil prices remain
low for the foreseeable future. And OPEC’s ability to produce oil will continue to
rise.
On the Global level— MMS recognizes that it needs to have a rational
regulatory system in order to attract capital. Investment dollars will go where the
prospects are and where the regulatory regime is the most rational.
The MMS needs to continue to share its expertise with the global community to assure that
natural gas and oil resources are developed in a safe and environmentally sound manner,
worldwide. A Memorandum of Understanding with Australia and Norway, has recently been
signed and MMS is providing advice and guidance to the Caspian nations as they look to
develop their oil and gas resources.
Canada is moving towards development of its offshore oil and gas resources right up
against the U.S.-Canada boundaries on both the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards. To the
south, great progress is being made in negotiations with Mexico on setting the boundary on
the western gap area in the Gulf of Mexico. This is very important since MMS already has
OCS deepwater leases which abut the western gap.
On the National level—It is estimated that OCS oil production will
double shortly after the turn of the century and natural gas production to experience
steady growth over the next 10 to 20 years. The Nation and industry have the potential to
reap substantial economic and energy benefits.
In the Gulf of Mexico, deepwater keeps getting deeper. There is now a
world record water depth for exploratory drilling in the Gulf. Chevron recently drilled an
exploratory well in 7,700 feet of water in the Gulf. MMS is now leasing deepwater tracts
in water depths of 13,000 feet.
U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow. The Offshore Program must continue to
provide for private investments that create hundred of thousands of high paying jobs
across the Nation, maintain domestic production capability, and benefit the American
people.
Today, we see naturally occurring gas hydrates as geohazards in the deepwater, but, it is
only a matter of time before they will be viewed as economical sources of natural gas.
Japan and India are actively pursuing technology to commercially develop and produce these
resources in the near future.
Coastal Impact Assistance legislation is being proposed on the Hill with draft bills
existing in both the House and Senate. Should such legislation be passed by this, or a
future Congress, it will have definite import for MMS, both in the revenue
collection/distribution and offshore minerals management arenas.
Questions MMS needs to ask itself are: Should MMS be working with oil and gas producers to
identify ways to generate more investment and job opportunities in their industry? And,
what should MMS do to make the Nation’s OCS the most attractive sites for energy
investment while ensuring the highest standards of human safety and environmentally sound
development?
Planning for the Future. Given the Presidential directive, the MMS needs
to pursue its offshore minerals management planning responsibilities on three concurrent
levels:
 | Carrying out the current 5-Year Program |
| Developing the next 2 5-Year Programs and look at what needs to be done in the areas
that are “off the table” until the year 2012 |
| Planning how to manage MMS oil and gas resources after the year 2012 |
Future Role of the Scientific Committee. The challenges MMS faces
today are different from those of the past. In response to these new challenges, MMS will
turn to its advisory committees to help it meet them. Efforts will focus on finding ways
to carry out MMS's programs more efficiently and even more effectively, improve the level
of service, and treat MMS constituents as partners in decisions affecting them.
Dr. Quarterman stated that she is pleased to see the Scientific Committee
taking such a strong interest in the deepwater environmental challenges facing MMS and its
dedicated efforts to assist it in meeting those challenges. She urged continued
involvement and to include other environmental and socioeconomic issues of paramount
importance to MMS in meeting its offshore minerals management responsibilities.
She asked the Committee to think about issues it anticipates the MMS will be facing and
some of the areas the committee might find of interest and pertinence that it can focus
its attention and expertise on as it goes through discussions and deliberations over the
next 2 days.
Last month, DOE released data showing that proved oil reserves in the U.S. increased in
1997 for the first time in a decade. “Oil and gas discoveries in the federal offshore
- several in deep water - also played a major role in the ... reserves increase(s).”
This may well be the start of a new trend.
In managing existing oil and gas development and future leasing on the OCS, MMS will
continue to involve all its stakeholders in ensuring the highest level of safety in
operations and environmental protection.
Because MMS must continue to fully assess the impact of the OCS program on coastal states
and the Nation, it needs to work together to evaluate how scientific information might
best be gathered with constituents and how the offshore program should proceed.
In the next century, our Nation’s offshore areas will increase in importance as a
source of oil and gas. We all have a stake in ensuring these resources can be tapped, and
the only way that can happen is if it is proven that it can be done in a safe and
environmentally sound manner.
For more information, contact Julie Reynolds.
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