U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Communications

NEWS RELEASE

MMS SETS MEETING TO DISCUSS INDIAN NATURAL GAS VALUATION
Comment Period Extended

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) has scheduled a meeting of the Indian Gas Valuation Negotiated Rulemaking Committee, in response to specific concerns expressed in comments on a proposed rulemaking.

The session will be held in MMS offices at 12600 West Colfax Avenue, Suite B-200, Golden, Colorado, on March 26, from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

The 19-member Committee, comprising representatives of affected Indian tribes, Indian allottee associations, industry and the federal government, advises MMS on revising and simplifying regulations governing the valuation and, thereby, royalties paid to Indian Tribes and allottees for natural gas produced on Indian lands.

MMS is also reopening the public comment period for those proposed regulations and will accept written comments for consideration through April 4.

Comments addressing the issue should be sent to:

David S. Guzy, Chief, Rules and Publications Staff Minerals Management Service
Royalty Management Program
P.O. Box 25165, MS 3101
Building 85, Denver Federal Center, Room A-212 Denver, Colorado 80225-0165.

Comments may also be sent via telefax at (303) 231-3194, or by E-mail to David_Guzy@mms.gov. Additional information is available from Guzy at (303) 231-3432.

The March 6, 1997, Federal Register announced the meeting and comment period extension and provided background information pertinent to the proposed regulation, which was published in the September 23, 1996, Federal Register; it can be viewed on the MMS's Internet website at http://www.mms.gov.

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

-MMS-

MMS Internet website address: http://www.mms.gov
24 hour Fax-on-Demand Service:(202) 219-1703