FOR RELEASE:  April 12, 1995                CONTACT:  Tom DeRocco
                                                   (202) 208-3983

          INSPECTOR GENERAL NOTES MMS'S SUCCESS IN IMPLEMENTING 
                           COMPLIANCE ACTION PLAN

     A report by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of
the Inspector General concluded that the Minerals Management
Service (MMS) has made significant progress in implementing the
26 recommendations of an internal Task Force on Royalty
Compliance.  MMS's Compliance Action Plan outlines the action
elements and steps necessary to implement the goals established
by the Task Force, which was created to enhance the royalty
compliance program in a manner dedicated to excellence and
responsiveness to the Department's constituents.

     The Task Force recommendations were designed to encourage
voluntary payor/producer compliance by clarifying existing laws
and regulations, fully integrating Royalty Management Program
compliance activities, increasing the use of automated systems to
determine royalty compliance, and developing improved methods for
measuring overall royalty compliance.  

     "The Compliance Action Plan is a success story for MMS, the
oil and gas industry and the American public," said MMS Director
Cynthia Quarterman.  "The plan's successful implementation
reflects smoother transactions that are less error
prone--resulting in cost and time savings for all parties." 

     The Plan is part of MMS's overall effort to streamline
regulations by clarifying procedures and including affected
parties in decisions that affect them.  MMS's overall strategy is
to facilitate prompt, accurate royalty payments by providing
clear, understandable instructions. 

     MMS is the federal agency that manages the nation's natural
gas, oil and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental
Shelf, and collects and disburses about $4 billion yearly in
revenues from offshore federal and mineral leases and from
onshore mineral leases on federal and Indian lands.

                                   -MMS-