U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

MMS and Offshore Operators Set Dates
for 1999 Best Practices Workshops

The Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) have announced this year’s Best Practices Workshops. The 1-day workshops, to be held on October 27th in New Orleans and October 29th in Houston, will provide a forum for government and industry to share techniques for minimizing offshore injuries and pollution.

Safe and clean offshore operations are of paramount importance to the MMS. The Best Practices Workshops are an excellent example of government and industry working together to protect the offshore environment and the people who work there.

The agenda for the Best Practices Workshop includes: a review of industry’s safety and environmental performance for 1998; presentations by offshore operators and their contractors on how they achieved superior performance; and MMS presentations on the offshore facility inspection process.

The Best Practices Workshops are based on voluntary participation by the oil and gas industry in the OCS Performance Measures Program. In addition to MMS and the OOC, the U.S. Coast Guard, four industry trade associations, and 18 operating companies collaborated to create the measures included in that program. For more information about performance measures and the 1999 workshops, please call Raymond Beittel at 703-787-1669 or visit the MMS website at www.mms.gov/eod/safety/perfmeas.htm.

MMS is the Federal Agency that manages the Nation’s oil and gas and other mineral resources on the OCS and collects, accounts for, and last year disbursed about $6 billion in revenues from Federal offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands.

-MMS-GOM-

MMS's Website Address: www.mms.gov
24 Hour Fax-on-Demand Service: 202-219-1703

Performance Measures / Best Practices Workshops
Conference Registration Form

________Yes, I will attend the October 27, 1999 meeting in New Orleans at the Hilton New Orleans Airport at 7 a.m. Register early! Enrollment is limited to the first 225 paid registrants.

________Yes, I will attend the October 29, 1999 meeting in Houston at the Houston Airport Marriott at 7 a.m. Register early! Enrollment is limited to the first 225 paid registrants.

Please Type/Print:

Name:

Company:

Address:

Phone (Work)_________________________ (FAX)________________________ (e-mail)____________________________________________________________

Registration:
__________ $75 Early Bird Fee (Through Wednesday, September 29 - For Oct. 27/29 Workshop)
__________ $100 Late Fee (From September 30, and on site - For Oct. 27 /29Workshop)

Method of Payment:
__________ Check enclosed (Payable to the University of New Orleans)
__________ Visa __________ MasterCard __________ American Express
Credit Card number: ________________________________________
Exp. Date: ________________________>

Billing Address of Credit Card Holder:
__________ I will have special needs for the conference (please notify by Oct. 15). Please specify (sign interpreter, Braille program, large print, mobility/accessibility, dietary)

Return registration form and method of payment to:
Performance Measures /Best Practices Workshops, University of New Orleans, Conference Services, Metropolitan College - ED 122, New Orleans, LA 70148.

For further information, or to register by phone, call (504) 280-6680 or (800) 258-8830 or FAX your registration and credit card information to (504) 280-7317. You may also reach us by E-mail: confmc@uno.edu.

Accommodations:
NEW ORLEANS: A block of rooms is being held at the Hilton New Orleans Airport, for conferences attendees. Single or Double rate is $115.00 plus taxes. Please make your hotel reservations by calling the Hilton New Orleans Airport at (504) 469-5000. The block is being held until October 1. After this date, rooms will be on availability basis only.

HOUSTON: A block of rooms is being held at the Houston Airport Marriott, for conferences attendees. Single or Double rate is $124.00 plus taxes. Please make your own hotel reservations by calling the Houston Airport Marriott at (281) 443-2310 . The block is being held until October 14. After this date, rooms will be on availability basis only.>

We reserve the right to cancel this workshop if it proves necessary. If you must cancel your conference registration, please do so in writing by October 15, 1999. No refund will be granted after October 15, but name substitution will be allowed.