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The
NewsRoom
Release: #3105
Date: November 29, 2004
MMS and Offshore Operators Establish Deep
Water Current Monitoring Program
The Minerals Management Service and offshore oil and
gas producers are cooperating on a pioneering monitoring program to
improve the nation’s understanding of powerful ocean currents that
have the potential to affect deep water operations across the Gulf of
Mexico.
Under the program, operating companies will collect
and share comprehensive current data from deep water drilling and
production sites.
According to Chris Oynes, MMS Gulf of Mexico
Regional Director, the data on the currents will be publicly available
on the internet, and “will be a tremendous resource for ocean
scientists and engineers from government agencies, universities and
the private sector.”
Oynes added, “This cooperative effort between
government and industry will advance our understanding of these
currents and ultimately improve our ability to prepare for them.”
The monitoring program will help ensure that
operators and drilling contractors have better information on existing
and forecasted current conditions. The data and predictive information
will enable them to curtail drilling operations before currents build
to threatening levels. The monitoring program will also enhance
capabilities for the design of deepwater production structures.
Details of the current monitoring program are
described in a Notice to Lessees (2004-G21) that was issued by MMS on
Nov. 24, 2004. This guidance was developed by oceanographers and
engineers from MMS and industry.
The NTL applies to floating production facilities
and drilling rigs in water depths greater than 400 meters (1,312 feet)
and will ensure that the current data are gathered and reported in a
consistent manner.
“In the long term, the measurement and sharing of
data on ocean currents will provide industry with better parameters to
which they can design platforms and their ancillary equipment such as
oil and gas risers and mooring systems,” said Oynes.
The Minerals Management Service is the federal
bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the
nation’s oil, natural gas and other mineral resources on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) in federal offshore waters. Currently, about
30 percent of the oil and 23 percent of the gas produced domestically
comes from these federal waters. The bureau also collects, accounts
for, and disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian
lands. MMS disbursed approximately $8 billion in Fiscal Year 2004 and
more than $143 billion since it was created in 1982. Nearly $1 billion
from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund
annually for the acquisition and development of state and federal park
and recreation lands.
Relevant Web Sites:
MMS Main Website
Gulf of Mexico Website
Media Contacts:
Debra Winbush (504)
736-2597
Caryl Fagot (504)
736-2590
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for
America
U.S. Department of the Interior
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