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 OCS Connect -- An MMS Offshore Minerals Management Transformation Project

GovWorks


Content:
   Darryl Francois

Pagemaster:
   Marcia Oliver


FirstGov

Photograph of offshore inspectors.Photograph of a seabird.Photograph of an ice island.Photograph of a fish.Photograph of a platform at sunset.Photograph of fish feeding beneath a platform.Photograph of a welder working on an offshore platform.

 

Welcome!

 

New OCS Connect System:
Public Connect Goes Live!

Public Connect is the first interactive, online system released as part of the OCS Connect project. Public Connect gives citizens the ability to electronically submit their comments on Offshore Minerals Management (OMM) regulatory and planning information that is open for comment in the Federal Register.
 
For more information on this new release, visit the MMS Newsroom.
 
Interested parties may submit comments on-line.

The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is a significant source of oil and gas for the Nation’s energy supply. At the end of 2002, the U.S. offshore supplied more than 25 percent of the country’s natural gas production and more than 30 percent of total domestic oil production. 

The offshore areas of the United States contain the majority of future oil and gas resources.  It is estimated that 60 percent of the oil and 59 percent of the gas yet to be discovered in the United States are located on the OCS.

The OCS Lands Act requires the Department of the Interior (DOI) to prepare a 5-year program that specifies the size, timing and location of areas to be assessed for Federal offshore natural gas and oil leasing.  It is the role of DOI to ensure that the U.S. government receives fair market value for acreage made available for leasing and that any oil and gas activities conserve resources, operate safely, and take maximum steps to protect the environment.

OCS oil and gas lease sales are held on an area-wide basis with annual sales in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico with less frequent sales held in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and offshore Alaska. The program operates along all the coasts of the United States - with oil and gas production occurring on the Gulf of Mexico, Pacific and Alaska OCS.  The MMS is also responsible for other mineral production offshore, which currently includes using sand and gravel for coastal restoration projects. 

The Offshore Minerals Management Program operates under the leadership of Associate Director Tom Readinger and Deputy Associate Director Bob LaBelle.


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Last Updated: 08/27/2004, 09:31:47 AM

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