U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Public Affairs

NEWS RELEASE

MMS PUBLISHES FINAL RULE FOR TRAINING OFFSHORE WORKERS

        The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) has published in the August 14, 2000 Federal Register the final regulation for training of lessee and contractor employees engaged in oil, natural gas, and sulfur operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The regulation can be found in Title 30, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 250, Subpart O.

        This performance-based regulation establishes a training system that will lead to safer and cleaner OCS operations by allowing the development of new and innovative training techniques, imposing fewer prescriptive requirements and providing for increased training flexibility. MMS plans to use a series of performance measures to assess lessee and contractor performance under this rule. These measures include audits, tests and interviews.

        There will be a two-year transition period from the current Subpart O regulation to the new rule. Lessees may implement the new rule at any time during this transition period. To further explain policy regarding this two-year period, MMS will be issuing a Notice to Lessees and Operators under separate cover.

        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
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