1

OCS AQS Operator User Manual

Study Title Outer Continental Shelf Air Quality System (OCS AQS) Operator User Manual

(Version 1.9)

Report Title Outer Continental Shelf Air Quality System (OCS AQS) Operator User Manual

(Version 1.9)

Report Number(s) (OCS 

Study) BOEM 2022-048

Completion Date of Report September 28, 2022

Number of Pages 201

Award Number(s) 140E0119C0006

Sponsoring OCS Region or 

Office BOEM Headquarters

Applicable Planning Area(s)

Federal waters west of 87° 30' West longitude in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) 

Central and Western Planning areas; and offshore of the North Slope Borough of 

Alaska, which includes the Beaufort and Chukchi Planning Areas and a portion 

of the Hope Basin Planning Area

Fiscal Year(s) of Study 

Funding FY22

Costs by Fiscal Year FY22

Cumulative Project Cost $12,000

Project Manager(s) Dave Lim, Mohammad Munshed 

Affiliation of Project 

Manager(s) Xator Corporation (prime), Lakes Environmental Software (subcontractor)

Address of Project 

Manager(s)

Xator Corporation

1835 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 210 

Reston, VA 20190

Principal Investigator(s) Dave Lim, Mohammad Munshed, Mike Johnson, Cris Thé, Bryan Matthews

Keywords OCS AQS, Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, oil and gas operators, emissions inventory

ABSTRACT: The Outer Continental Shelf Air Quality System (OCS AQS) is a comprehensive webbased software solution for managing emission inventories in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico 

(GOM) and Alaska regions that are under the jurisdiction of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

(BOEM), in accordance with 30 CFR 550.303(k) and 550.304(g). Through its web interface, OCS AQS 

allows GOM and Alaska operators to prepare and submit their required annual emissions data. A 

comprehensive operator user manual for OCS AQS was developed under this study to assist GOM and 

Alaska operators in this effort, thereby facilitating the source data input, calculation, quality 

assurance/quality control (QA/QC), and submission processes.

BACKGROUND: OCS AQS is a new, state-of-the-art emissions data management and air modeling 

system that was first used for the 2021 inventory effort in the GOM region. OCS AQS provides 

significant benefits over the previous GOADS system including a web-portal where GOM and Alaska 

operators can input their facility sources, activities, and automatically calculate emissions. Other benefits 
2

include enhanced usability; automated QA/QC to expand data quality evaluations; and advanced data 

analysis, reporting, and mapping tools. The OCS AQS operator user manual exposes these capabilities to

the operators so they can use the system effectively and with maximum benefit.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to develop comprehensive and helpful documentation on 

how to use OCS AQS in order to empower GOM and Alaska oil and gas operators in their effort to

prepare and submit emissions data in accordance with BOEM’s emissions inventory requirements.

METHODS: The operator user manual was developed iteratively in consultation with BOEM and with 

additional feedback from the user community. By using this approach, the user manual attempted to 

capture all relevant system features in a clear and easy-to-follow manner. The user manual is a living 

document that will be continuously updated as software updates are made to OCS AQS.

RESULTS: This study developed a comprehensive operator user manual to describe all relevant features 

of OCS AQS necessary for GOM and Alaska operators to prepare and submit their emissions data as 

required by BOEM. The manual begins with a brief “getting started” section to quickly orient new users 

to the system, provides a description of the dashboards including the Submittals Dashboard, and discusses 

in depth how to use the Activity and Emissions Manager as well as the Lease Operations Emissions 

Manager to input, calculate, and prepare required emissions data. The manual also describes other 

powerful features of the system that can help the operators to analyze, understand, and document their 

data, including various Documents, Map, and Reports tools. Finally, the manual provides an appendix 

section that describes all the calculators that have been implemented in OCS AQS.

CONCLUSIONS: The operator user manual has supported successful submission of the 2021 emissions 

data by facilitating the process of input and data submission by the operators. As a living document, the 

current version will provide the most up-to-date information in anticipation of the 2023 inventory effort.

STUDY PRODUCT(S): 

1. BOEM study report: Thé J, Thé C, Munshed M, Torrens A, Alkabbani H. 2022. Outer 

Continental Shelf Air Quality System (OCS AQS) operator user manual (version 1.9). Sterling 

(VA): U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 201 p. Report No.:

OCS Study BOEM 2022-048.

2. OCS AQS website: https://ocsaqs.doi.gov

MAP OF STUDY AREA: Federal waters west of 87° 30' West longitude in the GOM Central and 

Western Planning areas; and offshore of the North Slope Borough of Alaska, including the Beaufort and 

Chukchi Planning Areas and a portion of the Hope Basin Planning Area as shown in the figure below.
3

Figure 1. Map of study area

This figure shows OCS planning areas. The blue shaded areas are under BOEM air quality jurisdiction, requiring 

those operators in these regions to submit emissions data to BOEM using the OCS AQS tool.