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

MMS Regional Director Chris Oynes will be a Keynote Speaker
at the Deepwater Operations Forum 

Join co-hosts BP and BHP for the first-ever Deepwater Operations Forum, to be held September 29 through October 1 at the Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston, Texas. This open forum will focus on the various aspects and issues of operating production facilities in deepwater.

While an ever-expanding number of conferences focus on deepwater technology, many fall short when it comes to operational issues. With the high cost and unique logistics inherent in such projects, a deepwater operation is an area that deserves detailed examination. At this two-day forum, invited presenters will share case studies and best practices, as well as their hard-won experience operating production facilities in deepwater.

Targeted toward field operations staff as well as engineering and management personnel representing both operators and service contractors, this open-forum will feature up-to-the-minute presentations on the key issues related to deepwater operations. Each presentation will be followed by an extended question and answer period designed to promote open exchange between the presenters and audience. Because of the topical nature of these discussions all presentations will be recruited by the advisory board, no proceedings will be published, and the press will not be invited to attend.

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