Welcome
to the
Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
Region of the Minerals Management Service. The MMS has two major
functions. The bureau manages the Nation's offshore energy and
mineral resources, including oil, gas, and alternative energy
sources, as well as sand,
gravel and other hard minerals on the OCS. The MMS is also
responsible for the collection and disbursement of revenues
associated with energy and mineral resource production from all
onshore and offshore Federal and Indian lands.
The MMS Pacific Region is
one of three OCS regional offices. The Region currently manages 49
Federal oil and gas leases offshore southern California, 43 of
which are producing about 24 million barrels of oil and 47 billion
cubic feet of gas annually from 23 platforms. Furthermore,
under authority granted in the
Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Region is accepting
applications for renewable energy (e.g. wind, wave, hydrogen and
solar) projects in Federal waters offshore Washington, Oregon,
California and Hawaii. The MMS published final regulations regarding the leasing
and oversight of renewable energy activities in April 2009.
The Pacific Region places
the highest priority on safety and environmental protection while
working to ensure effective and efficient energy resource recovery
efforts on the OCS.
