Here's What's New at MMS

Sperm Whales Reside in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

The MMS today released the results of a six-year, $9.3 million study on sperm whales, an endangered species living in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS) focused on the effects of seismic activities on sperm whales living in an area that is highly industrialized with oil and gas exploration and production activities. (08/21/2008)

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced that the Western Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 207, held today in New Orleans, attracted $487,297,676 in high bids. The sale was conducted by Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) and had 53 companies submitting 423 bids on 319 tracts comprising over 1.8 million acres offshore Texas. The sum of all bids received totaled $607,134,968. (08/20/2008)

The bids are in for Western Gulf of Mexico Federal Oil and Gas Lease Sale 207 to be held tomorrow. The MMS Gulf of Mexico Region announced that 423 bids were received from 47companies on 319 tracts offered offshore Texas.

Reading of the sealed bids will take place tomorrow, August 20, beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Sonesta Hotel, 300 Bourbon Street, New Orleans. (08/19/2008)

The MMS Continuity of Operations Plan team is concluding its activities related to Tropical Storm Edouard. This is the final update of evacuation and shut-in production statistics for Tropical Storm Edouard.

Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. CST today, personnel have been evacuated from a total of 0 production platforms, equivalent to 0 % of the 717 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. (08/07/2008)

NEW ORLEANS — Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico have evacuated platforms and rigs in the path of Tropical Storm Edouard. The Minerals Management Service has activated its Continuity of Operations Plan team to monitor the operators’ activities. This team will be activated until operations return to normal and the storm is no longer a threat to the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities.

Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. CST today, personnel have been evacuated from a total of 53 production platforms, equivalent to 7.4 % of the 717 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Production platforms are the structures located offshore from which oil and natural gas are produced. These structures remain in the same location throughout a project’s duration unlike drilling rigs which typically move from location to location. (08/06/2008)
 

The MMS announced today that nominations are being sought for three representatives from the public-at-large to serve on the Department of the Interior’s Royalty Policy Committee (RPC).

The nominations, due by August 15, 2008, are for representatives from the general public who have a knowledge and interest in royalty issues. (08/01/2008)

The MMS announced today it will continue with sales restricted to small refiners as part of its Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) program.

The “Small Refiner Program” provides access to crude oil supplies for domestic refining companies with fewer than 125,000 barrels per day refining capacity and 1,500 employees. The program is currently operating at a level of approximately 30,000 barrels per day in the Gulf of Mexico. (07/30/2008)

Saying the nation’s energy situation has dramatically changed in the past year, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today jumpstarted the development of a new oil and natural gas leasing program for the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The action could give the next administration a two-year head start in expanding energy production from federal offshore jurisdictions, including some areas where a congressional ban had prevented oil and gas development.

“When our current five-year program for Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing was launched in July 2007, oil was selling for $64 a barrel,” Kempthorne said. “Today a barrel of oil costs more than $120, almost double the price a year ago. Clearly, today’s escalating energy prices and the widening gap between U.S. energy consumption and supply have changed the fundamental assumptions on which many of our decisions were based.” (7/30/2008)

The MMS announced today it is extending the public comment period on the proposal to amend the regulations, distributions and disbursement of royalties, rentals, and bonuses to include the allocation and disbursement of revenues from certain leases on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf. (07/28/2008)

The MMS has awarded a $1.3 million grant to the State of Louisiana through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) for the Orleans Land Bridge Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation project. The project will build approximately 50,000 feet of rock breakwater and restore approximately 220 acres of marsh with dredged material in the Golden Triangle area bounded by the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the Intracoastal Waterway and the western shore of Lake Borgne in Orleans Parish. (07/28/2008)

The MMS announced today that it is proceeding with the consultation and analyses necessary to move toward the issuance of limited leases under its interim policy for authorizing alternative energy data collection and technology testing activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

MMS announced its interim policy in November 2007 to jumpstart basic information gathering efforts relating to development of OCS alternative energy resources such as wind, waves, and ocean currents as authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). (07/23/2008)

The MMS has created a new organization to reflect the significance the agency places on alternative energy. The newly formed Office of Offshore Alternative Energy Programs (OAEP) raises the alternative energy program’s stature in the organization, and enhances the program’s ability to meet the new statutory mandates and respond to the unique needs of the regulated community.

In a complimentary move, MMS renamed its Offshore Minerals Management program as the Offshore Energy and Minerals Management (OEMM) Program. The name change reflects MMS’s expanded authority to regulate alternative energy on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), in accordance with Energy Policy Act of 2005. The new alternative energy office will now directly report to the Associate Director for OEMM. (07/10/2008)

The Minerals Management Service published a Request for Information in the Federal Register to gauge the level of industry interest in energy exploration in Alaska’s Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait.

The service will use the information to decide whether to proceed with the evaluation process for potential oil and gas lease sales in the area. (07/09/2008)

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) today released a report that identifies three marine organisms that may be useful for biomedical research  potentially leading to new treatments for human diseases.

Under a research agreement sponsored by MMS, University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) researchers studied marine organisms collected from offshore oil and gas platforms in California’s Santa Barbara Channel and found that two invertebrate species contain compounds that inhibit the division of cancer cells grown in the laboratory. (06/30/2008)