 Welcome!
Welcome to the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region of the
Minerals Management Service (MMS). MMS is a bureau of the Department of the
Interior. Our mission is to manage the mineral resources of the Outer
Continental Shelf in an environmentally sound and safe manner.
Please read the
Regional Director's Page for a brief overview
of activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Deepwater Horizon
Incident
Deepwater Horizon FOIA and Congressional Request Reading Room
Bromwich Launches Investigative/Compliance Team to Spur Reform, Restructuring of
Offshore Oil and Gas Regulation
New Team will Report Directly to Bureau of
Ocean Energy Director
WASHINGTON, DC -- Michael R. Bromwich, the former
Department of Justice Inspector General who now leads Interior Department reform
initiatives to strengthen oversight and policing of offshore oil and gas
development, today announced that he will establish an investigations and review
unit that will help to expedite his oversight, enforcement and re-organization
mandates.
(06/23/2010)
Salazar
Swears-In Michael R. Bromwich to Lead Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
Regulation and Enforcement
Secretarial Order Begins Reorganization of
Former MMS
WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken
Salazar today swore-in former Justice Department Inspector General Michael
Bromwich to lead reforms that will strengthen oversight and policing of offshore
oil and gas development.
(06/21/2010)
Salazar Calls for New Safety Measures for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations;
Orders Six Month Moratorium on Deepwater Drilling
Cancels Western Gulf and Virginia Lease Sales,
Suspends Proposed Arctic Drilling
WASHINGTON – To improve the safety of oil and gas
development in federal waters, provide greater environmental protection and
substantially reduce the risk of catastrophic events such as the BP Deepwater
Horizon oil spill, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today called for
aggressive new operating standards and requirements for offshore energy
companies and ordered a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.
(05/27/2010)
Salazar Launches Safety and Environmental Protection Reforms to Toughen
Oversight of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations
WASHINGTON, DC – As part of an ongoing agenda to
change the way the Department of the Interior does business, Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar today announced a set of reforms that will provide federal
inspectors more tools, more resources, more independence, and greater authority
to enforce laws and regulations that apply to oil and gas companies operating on
the Outer Continental Shelf.
(05/11/2010)
Secretary Salazar Announces Approval of Cape Wind Energy Project on Outer
Continental Shelf off Massachusetts
BOSTON, Mass – Secretary of the Interior Ken
Salazar today approved the Cape Wind renewable energy project on federal
submerged lands in Nantucket Sound, but will require the developer of the $1
billion wind farm to agree to additional binding measures to minimize the
potential adverse impacts of construction and operation of the facility.
(04/28/2010)
MMS
Funds Technical Research to Support Offshore Renewable Energy Development on the
Outer Continental Shelf
Studies Focus on Technology,
Operational Safety of Offshore Wind, Wave and Ocean Current Devices
WASHINGTON, DC – The Department
of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) recently funded four
research studies to identify technological and operational safety issues related
to the future development of offshore renewable energy on the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS).
(04/14/2010)
MMS Opens
Comment Period on the Scope of EIS for 2012-2017 Five-Year Programs
WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior’s
Minerals Management Service (MMS) published in the Federal Register today a
Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the
proposed 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
(04/02/2010)
Secretary
Salazar Announces Comprehensive Strategy for Offshore Oil and Gas Development
and Exploration
New Development in Gulf of Mexico; Exploration
in Arctic and Atlantic; Protection for Alaska’s Bristol Bay
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MD – Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar today announced that, as part of a comprehensive strategy
for strengthening the nation’s energy security and reducing America’s dependence
on foreign oil, the Obama Administration will expand oil and gas development and
exploration on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, while protecting fisheries,
tourism, and places off U.S. coasts that are not appropriate for development.
(03/31/2010)
Secretary Salazar Announces Interior Award of $33 Million to
the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
Funds help state improve coastal highway through Lafourche Parish
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the
Department has added an additional $24.2 million to a previously awarded $8.8 million
grant to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources to reimburse construction costs
for improvements to LA Highway 1.
(03/25/2010)
Central Gulf
of Mexico Lease Sale 213 Attracts $ 949 Million in High Bids
NEW ORLEANS – Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas
Lease Sale 213, held today in New Orleans, attracted $ 949,265,959 in high bids.
(03/17/2010)
 MMS Ocean Science Magazine Highlights Mission-Related Activities
As MMS moves forward in 2010, Ocean Science continues to highlight our
diverse research programs. Topics included in this latest issue include social
research in Alaska, the sperm whale acoustic prey study, and platform design. (04/12/2010)
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