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

NEWS RELEASE

MMS Director Johnnie Burton to Hold Press Conference

Who: Johnnie Burton, Director of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service

What: Press Conference to announce new resource estimates for deep shelf gas in the Gulf of Mexico

When: Wednesday, November 19, at 3:00 p.m.

Where: Omni Houston Hotel – Churchill Salon (2nd floor), 4 Riverway, Houston, TX

MMS Director Johnnie Burton will be in Houston to address the North American Natural Gas Summit. Director Burton will discuss the role the Gulf of Mexico will play in the future of our Nation’s natural gas supply. Prior to her speech, she will hold a press conference to announce new resource estimates for deep shelf gas.

MMS is the Federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in Federal offshore waters. The agency also collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian leases. These revenues totaled over $6 billion in 2002 and nearly $127 billion since the agency was created in 1982. Annually, nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the acquisition and development of state and Federal park and recreation lands.

MMS Main Website:  www.mms.gov
Gulf of Mexico Website:  www.gomr.mms.gov