NEWS RELEASE

MMS Provides Greater Access to Public Information

NEW ORLEANS - Minerals Management Service’ highly successful Online Ordering System has reached a significant milestone with the delivery of 2.5 million well logs to the public.  Now new features will allow customers to download more information with no cost increase.  This improved system will enhance public accessibility to vital offshore Gulf of Mexico information.

Whether it is complex well logs available from the current Online Ordering System or information about expired leases, permits, leases, or wells contained in the Public Information Data System, recent improvements allow the public to create customized CD’s just by visiting the MMS website.  Customers can now burn large sets of public well documents to CD and mix the public documents with associated well logs, thereby creating a comprehensive set of data for a flat rate of $15.00 per CD.

MMS Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Chris Oynes believes that this is a significant improvement in the delivery of public data.  “Five years ago, when MMS loaned paper well logs to customers for copying, the annual volume for loans was approximately 20,000 logs.  Today, the Online Ordering System delivers almost the same amount per week,” explained Oynes.

“The past success and recent improvements made to the Online Ordering System have been key in promoting the President’s E-government agenda and developing cost-effective customer service systems,” said Oynes.  “It is a tremendous improvement in our service to the thousands of customers who use our oil and gas records for activity in the ocean, potentially saving them considerable time and expense.”

MMS, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, oversees 1.76 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf, managing offshore energy and minerals while protecting the human, marine, and coastal environments through advanced science and technology research.  The OCS provides 30 percent of oil and 23 percent of natural gas produced domestically, and sand used for coastal restoration. MMS collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian lands, with Fiscal Year 2004 disbursements of approximately $8 billion and more than $143 billion since 1982.  The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which pays for cooperative conservation, grants to states, and Federal land acquisition, gets nearly $1 billion a year.

MMS Main Website:  www.mms.gov

***MMS:  Securing Ocean Energy and Economic Value for America***