MMS

SCIENCE

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 

JULY/AUGUST 2005

THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

The Key to Our

Energy Future

The Right Staff –

Working for 

the Nation 

Pride in a Job

Well Done

Drilling Where 

No One Has

Drilled Before

Going Deeper

and Colder

Environmental

Studies

Program –

Collecting the

Data

Native

Collaboration

and OCS

Development 

in Alaska

The Key to Our

Energy Future

The Right Staff –

Working for 

the Nation 

Pride in a Job

Well Done

Drilling Where 

No One Has

Drilled Before

Going Deeper

and Colder

Environmental

Studies

Program –

Collecting the

Data

Native

Collaboration

and OCS

Development 

in Alaska
2 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

JULY/AUGUST 2005 Volume 2 Issue 4

3 Knowledge – 

The Key to Our Energy Future

4 The Right Staff –

Working for the Nation 

5 Pride in a Job Well Done –

An Ocean of Opportunity

5 Deepwater Nautilus 

Breaks World Record

6 Using the Data to 

Make Better Decisions

7 Drilling Where 

No One Has Drilled Before

8 Evaluating Shallow Hazards –

Surveys for Historic Shipwrecks

9 Going Deeper and Colder –

Exploring New Environments 

10 Environmental Studies Program –

Collecting the Data

11 Native Collaboration and 

OCS Development in Alaska –

A Mutual Understanding

12 New Waves

Late-breaking News & Information

For more information about the Minerals Management Service, 

check out our site on the World Wide Web:

www.mms.gov

Subscribe

To receive MMS OCEAN SCIENCE, sign up on the website

www.gomr.mms.gov, click on e-mail subscriptions on the left-hand

column, check the box marked Environmental Studies or e-mail

mary.boatman@mms.gov or call (504) 736-2781

MMS

SCIENCE

JULY/AUGUST 2005 

Volume 2 Issue 4

MMS OCEAN SCIENCE is published 

bi-monthly by the Minerals

Management Service to communicate

recent ocean science and technological

information and issues of interest related

to offshore mineral recovery, ocean

stewardship, and mineral revenues.

Please address all questions,

comments, suggestions, and changes

of address to:

Mary Boatman

MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Editor

Minerals Management Service

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70123

mary.boatman@mms.gov

(504) 736-2781

ABOUT THE COVER

Researchers being lifted from research vessel 

to platform. Photo by Gregory S. Boland.

All photos courtesy of Minerals Management Service

unless otherwise noted.

Publication services provided by 

Schatz Publishing Group

Correction to the May/June Issue

Excelerate Energy’s Gulf Gateway project is 116 miles

offshore and has a boiloff of 0.15% per day or less.

Their vessels have a cost in the $200 million range.
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST 2005 3

KNOWLEDGE

Many of the decisions

regarding the direction

to pursue in the

development of the

Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS) are affected by the types of energy

resources, the technological challenges,

and the potential environmental effects.

The National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) requires that the Minerals

Management Service (MMS), like all

Federal agencies, use knowledge from

environmental data and scientific

expertise to provide the best possible

information from which to make

responsible decisions. This information

is used to address critical questions asked

by decisionmakers and the public

concerning the effects on the environment, both human and marine, by the

recovery of energy resources such as oil

and gas. Some of these critical questions

are as follows:

How can we minimize the impacts 

to ecosystems while developing 

energy resources?

What will development mean for the

future of the OCS?

How should the Nation’s energy

needs be weighed against the possible

environmental effects?

How can technological advancements be used to improve and

encourage future development in a safe

and environmentally sound manner?

The MMS has sponsored hundreds 

of studies to obtain the data necessary 

to address these questions. The

Environmental Studies Program (ESP),

the Technological Assessment and 

Research Program (TA&R), and their

many partnerships with academic

institutions, industry scientists, and

international agencies generate the data

and analyses to ensure MMS has the best

information available on which to make

plans for the future of the OCS.

What is the answer as to where we

are going on the OCS? The broad

answers are deeper, colder, smarter, and

safer. And how do we get there? Through

responsible, detailed planning by the

expert teams that make up MMS. It is

their job to ensure the environment is

protected while providing energy to the

Nation for generations to come.

THE KEY TO OUR

ENERGY FUTURE

Left: A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) 

being deployed.

Top: A research diver taking a photograph of coral 

at the Flower Garden Banks.

Bottom: Rockfish sitting on a coral head.

All photos by Gregory S. Boland.
4 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

WORKING FOR THE NATION

THE RIGHT STAFF

Ayoung geologist using

updated geophysical data 

to search for potential

pockets of oil and gas...

a marine biologist

working with university scientists to

document how oil and gas platforms

affect the marine environment in which

they stand...a physical oceanographer

studying how ocean currents affect coral

reefs beneath the ocean surface...a

zoologist exploring the arctic ice to

discover how polar bears may be affected

by potential oil and gas leases...an

auditor combing through yearly figures

to ensure that the Nation is receiving fair

market value for its resources...What do

these people have in common? They

represent a glimpse of some of the

diverse opportunities available at the

Minerals Management Service (MMS) to

those who seek to make a difference in

the future of our Nation’s energy needs

and environmental health.

Since being created in 1982, MMS’s

mandate has been “to manage the

mineral resources on the Nation’s Outer

Continental Shelf (OCS) in an

environmentally sound and safe manner

MMS scientists Bill Shedd, Jesse Hunt, Mary Boatman, Greg Boland, and Mike Smith participate in an

exploration of the Gulf of Mexico seafloor on the Johnson Sea-Link Submarine.

Bob Broome, geologist, and Carol Crawford,

petroleum engineer, examining geophysical data.

maintains a very effective staff with a

broad range of technical backgrounds

ranging from engineers to support staff. 

What will the future bring at MMS?

As we move farther and deeper into the

OCS, there will be more opportunities to

use new imaging and research software,

review technological advances in

equipment to meet environmental

stresses, develop environmental

protection plans for alternative energy,

and a multitude of other new

opportunities and as-yet-unknown

challenges. As our Nation’s energy needs

continue to grow, so will the importance

of MMS’s mission and its diverse and

highly educated staff.

and to collect, verify, and distribute, in a

timely fashion, mineral revenues

generated from Federal (onshore and

offshore) and Native American lands.”

This mission is enormous, but it is done

with an approximate workforce of only

1,800. To accomplish this, MMS

“...a glimpse of some of the

diverse opportunities available

at Minerals Management

Service (MMS) to those who 

seek to make a difference...”
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST 2005 5

FOR OR MORE MORE INFORMA INFORMATION

ON CAREERS AREERS:

Careers in Science

Website: http://www.gomr.mms.gov/

homepg/lagniapp/

careerpg.html

AN OCEAN OF OPPORTUNITY

PRIDE IN A JOB WELL DONE

Mike Conner, Chief of Technical

Assessment and Operations

Support Section with the

Minerals Management Service (MMS) in

New Orleans, has served with MMS for

15 years, starting in the pipeline section

and eventually moving into the technical

section four years ago.

The main focus of Conner’s section is

the review of deepwater operations plans

(DWOP’s). Each structure in water

deeper than 1,000 feet and any subsea

well must be reviewed and approved by

the Technical Assessment and

Operations Support Section to ensure

safe construction. He comments, “The

detailed DWOP’s might have 100 sheets

of diagrams and we have to go through

each one, checking each safety device on

each platform. Major platforms have

about 1,200 safety devices.”

Conner has a petroleum engineering

degree, which is very useful in the highly

technical work he performs. He enjoys

his work with MMS and explains the

opportunities it provides him. “I get to

look at everything that goes on in the 

Gulf of Mexico, the premier oil and gas

area in the world. We’re reviewing the oil

and gas industry’s space age-type

operations, and that’s really exciting.”

misconception is that people think that

the oil and gas industry offshore in

Federal waters is like what you see in the

movies: grease and oil all over... On

(floating production facility) Mars,

which cost 1.7 billion dollars to build,

you could eat off the floor if you wanted

to. You have to put booties on just to

walk on the floor! It’s not like in the

movies.”

Conner notes there are many

opportunities in many fields in MMS.

He feels that a college graduate

interested in MMS employment should

check out all the different areas and jobs

to help decide where to start first in this

“ocean of opportunity.”

The MMS’s careful, regular inspection

of rigs and platforms for the safety of the

workers and the environment is a source

of pride for Conner. He says, “I’m proud

of what we do here at MMS.”

Deepwater Nautilus Breaks World Record for Moored Rig

T he Deepwater Nautilus team has set another world

water-depth record for an offshore drilling rig

operating in moored configuration at 8,951 feet of

water in Lloyd Ridge Block 399 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

for Shell. The achievement surpasses the prior world record

for a moored rig of 8,717 feet of water set by the Deepwater

Nautilus team for Shell in Alaminos Canyon Block 857 in the

U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The Deepwater Nautilus team has been setting world

water-depth records for a moored unit since the deepwater

semisubmersible went on its first location in 2000 for Shell.

The Deepwater Nautilus is one of 13 Transocean 5thgeneration mobile offshore drilling rigs that work in the

world's deepest water depths. A multi-operation-class rig, the

Deepwater Nautilus can operate within a pattern of eight

moorings. A 9,400-metric-ton deckload accommodates all

the equipment, riser, conductor, and casing to start a well

and work through setting the blowout preventer on the

wellhead quickly and efficiently.

In addition to the world water-depth records for a

moored rig, the Deepwater Nautilus team also holds the

world record for the deepest subsea completion, set at 

7,570 feet of

water on the

Shelloperated

Coulomb

project C-2

well in the

U.S. Gulf of

Mexico.

Deepwater Nautilus

According to Conner, the area of oil

and gas production currently getting the

most attention is deepwater. Since

deepwater drilling and production is a

relatively new phenomenon, Conner

notes that you can’t “go get a degree” in

the new deepwater technologies because

no one has done them before. Drilling

in the Gulf of Mexico recently set a

record at 10,011 feet of water.

Conner explained that his section

comprises geologists, engineers, and

geophysicists. He continued, “We review

shallow hazards, drilling, production,

workover (activities), and subsea

(structures).”

People not familiar with offshore

activities sometimes have misconceptions about the offshore oil and gas

industry. Conner relates, “One common

Mike Conner, Chief of Technical Assessment and

Field Operations Support Section with MMS.
6 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

Divers examine mussels growing on Platform Grace off theCalifornia coast near Santa Barbara.

program. The intense focus of the public,

environmental interest groups, and

government agencies on the connection

between the ESP, NEPA documents, and

MMS oil and gas decisions is best

illustrated by the Presidential Task Force

convened in 1989 to address the

knowledge base that was available for

leasing decisions in California and

Florida. This Task Force turned to the

National Academy of Sciences National

Research Council (the preeminent

scientific body in the United States) to

assess the state of information available

to the agency through the ESP and

elsewhere and specifically analyzed how

such information and data had been

captured in NEPA Environmental Impact

Statements (EIS). 

Since that time, MMS’s ESP has

worked diligently to address the data

gaps identified in the series of NRC

reports and has gone far beyond the

recommendations to capture the

information that is used regularly in

MMS-prepared NEPA documents. A

recent example of the relationship of an

ESP study to a NEPA document is the

use of physical oceanography data in a

draft EIS for undeveloped oil and gas

leases in the Pacific OCS Region. These

leases are at present the subject of

litigation and have not been drilled, but

the use of ESP data in the EIS is

illustrative of the connection between

the ESP and NEPA.

The Pacific Outer Continental Shelf

Delineation Drilling Activities in Federal

Managing energy

resources on

America’s offshore

public lands is a complex balance of

science, public engagement, and sound

policy-making. The Outer Continental

Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) charges the

Minerals Management Service (MMS)

with this important responsibility. In

addition to carrying out management

and regulatory responsibilities under the

OCSLA, the MMS must also ensure it

meets Federal legal mandates set forth in

the National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA). The NEPA requires that MMS

use the best available data and

information in preparing environmental

review documents for OCS oil and gas

lease sales and for the many decisions

that MMS must make in approving

offshore exploration, development, 

and production.

The MMS Environmental Studies

Program (ESP), one of the Federal

Government’s premier ocean research

programs, fulfills a critical section of the

OCSLA that requires that the MMS

acquire the necessary information to

assess and manage environmental

impacts in areas that may be affected by

Federal offshore oil and gas activities.

The connection between the ESP and

NEPA is therefore direct and has been a

driving force in the history of the

USING THE DATA 

TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS

by Fred Pilz, Senior Environmental Scientist, Pacific OCS Region

“The Secretary shall conduct a study of any area or 

region included in any oil and gas lease sale in order to 

establish information needed for assessment and management 

of environmental impacts on the human, marine, and coastal

environments of the Outer Continental Shelf and the 

coastal areas which may be affected by oil and gas 

development in such area or region.”

(Section 20 of the OCS Lands Act)
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST 2005 7

data and analytical techniques available.

In the case of the draft EIS, the MMS had

more than five years of extensive physical

oceanography data collected in the Santa

Barbara Channel and Santa Maria Basins

available through a study funded as a

Cooperative Agreement with the

University of California, Scripps

Institution of Oceanography. In addition

to the data, scientists at Scripps had been

able to describe the dominant

circulation patterns in the area being

analyzed in the draft EIS. Wind and

current information collected by the

Scripps research were incorporated into

the Oil Spill Risk Analysis (OSRA)

computer model that MMS developed

for use in NEPA documents. As a result,

the predictions of oil-spill movement

created by the model are more accurate.

In addition to the MMS OSRA analyses,

ocean drifter tracts were incorporated

into the EIS analysis directly from the

research generated through the ESP and

supplemented the analyst’s ability to

predict potential environmental impacts.

Far from being an exception, the use

of ESP data in the draft EIS for California

illustrates the strong continuing link

between MMS’s environmental research

and NEPA documents in all regions

where the Department of the Interior

manages offshore oil and gas resources

for the Nation.

Waters Offshore Santa Barbara County,

California Draft Environmental Impact

Statement (OCS EIS/EA MMS 2001-046)

is typical of the NEPA documents

prepared in the region. Extensive public

and local government scrutiny requires

that such documents be encyclopedic,

using the most recent environmental

Drilling Where No One Has Drilled Before

On February 10, ExxonMobil Corporation spudded one of

the most anticipated wells on the Gulf of Mexico Outer

Continental Shelf. The well is being drilled in the West

Blackbeard prospect, which is thought to have a potential for

several trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Miocene and

older sections. The location of the well is in South Timbalier

Block 168, in a water depth of only 70 feet.

So why is it so well-known? If completed, this Blackbeard

well will rank among the deepest wells ever drilled on the planet

and the deepest in the Gulf of Mexico. The well has a scheduled

depth of 32,000 feet, according to reports.

To do the job, ExxonMobil has hired the Rowan Industries

“Scooter Yeargain,” a new series of Tarzan Class rigs targeted for

shallow water and deep gas drilling. The Tarzan Class design is a

lighter-weight version of Rowan’s “Gorilla Class” and “Super

Gorilla Class” designs, with the hull half the size of the Gorillas.

The “Scooter Yeargain” is capable of drilling deep gas wells

down 30,000 to 40,000 feet – about 15,000 feet deeper than the

industry’s aging jack-up fleet.

But don’t expect to find results on this 

well in the near future; it will take 

approximately nine months to a year 

to drill this site.

Rowan’s Scooter

Yeargain Tarzan

Class jack-up rig

being constructed.

Santa Barbara Channel and Locations of Data

Gathering Moorings and Buoys.
8 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

FOR OR MORE MORE INFORMA INFORMATION:

Archaeological Resources

Regulations

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/

regulate/regs/laws/

postsale.html#arl

Gulf of Mexico 

Archaeological Information

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/

regulate/environ/archaeological/

introduction.html

Under Section 106 of the National

Historic Preservation Act (NHPA),

the Minerals Management Service

(MMS) has the responsibility to consider

the effect of its actions on significant

archaeological resources. The MMS has

adhered to the NHPA by requiring

industry to conduct remote-sensing

surveys and avoid potential targets that

could be associated with archaeological

resources. Many of these targets do not

undergo additional evaluation to

determine whether they are actual

shipwrecks or, if they are, whether they

have any archaeological significance.

The general practice is simply to avoid

any suspicious areas.

As a result, MMS amassed a

tremendous amount of information

about the location of these anomalies,

but still needed to know more about the

effectiveness of this process. Detailed

information about these anomalies has

value in eliminating extraneous,

archaeologically insignificant sites from

further concern and in refining the

analytical methods used in selecting

certain sites for avoidance in the future.

In order to help understand if MMSprescribed avoidance of seafloor features

was sufficient to provide adequate

protection to significant historic

resources, a study was awarded to PBS&J

of Austin, Texas, in November 2003 to

Sidescan-sonar survey of the Castine shipwreck

provided to MMS by industry.

SURVEYS FOR HISTORIC SHIPWRECKS

EVALUATING SHALLOW HAZARDS

ground-truth, positively identify, and

assess the National Register status of

several sidescan-sonar targets.

Fieldwork for this study has been

completed and was carried out as two

separate task orders, over two one-week

periods. The first was completed in May

2004 and successfully investigated seven

sidescan-sonar targets. The second was

recently completed in May 2005 and

successfully investigated five sonar

targets. Of the 12 targets examined, 

4 were confirmed to be historic

shipwrecks.

Probably the most significant vessel

identified was that of the former U.S.

Naval gunboat Castine (above), which

was documented in May 2005 in the

Grand Isle area, south of Fourchon,

Louisiana. Castine was built in 1893 and

commissioned in October 1894.

Preliminary research suggests that this

ship may have been the first U.S. Naval

vessel to capture a Spanish ship during

the Spanish-American War of 1898. After

serving as a submarine tender in World

War I, Castine was decommissioned in

1919 and sold in 1921. The vessel sank

in a collision off the mouth of the

Mississippi River in 1924 while in tow to

Sabine, Texas.

Today the Castine rises about 10 feet

above the seafloor in over 100 feet of

water and is covered in shrimp nets.

Most of the hull appears to be intact and

several hatch covers and wooden deck

planks were observed on the deck of the

vessel. Unfortunately, visibility at the site

was less than 2 feet, but observations

were made that identified at least four

gun ports along the starboard side of the

vessel. Further information on this vessel

and the others examined during this

study will be published in a final report

of findings due in November 2005.

Color-tinted post card of a photograph taken circa 1905 at Pensacola, Florida, by Enrique Muller. Courtesy of

the Naval Historical Center.
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST 2005 9

OHMSETT facility test of containment boom and skimmer used to control and recover oil in open waters.

EXPLORING NEW ENVIRONMENTS 

GOING DEEPER AND COLDER

New technological advances in the

exploration, drilling, and

production of oil and gas seem to

emerge daily. In the interest of safety,

potential advances are reviewed and

approved by the Minerals Management

Service (MMS), Technology Assessment

& Research (TA&R) Program before

implementation of these innovations.

The TA&R Program was established in

the 1970’s to provide for research into

pollution prevention and operational

safety. Its primary objectives are technical

support to MMS decisionmakers;

technology assessment to ensure the Best

Available and Safest Technologies (BAST)

are used in the Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS); acting as a research catalyst for

safety, engineering, oil spill and cleanup;

and providing research for international

regulatory initiatives. TA&R incorporates

two primary research programs:

Operational Safety and Engineering

Research (OS&ER) and Oil-Spill

Response Research (OSRR). 

OS&ER addresses the complete range

of oil and gas technologies from the

drilling of exploratory wells to active

production to the decommissioning of

platforms and other equipment. As

exploration and production move deeper

offshore, new techniques and equipment

must be developed to meet the physical

and economic challenges imposed by

deepwater (greater than 10,000 feet).

Technologies developed to meet the

challenges of deepwater or sea ice are

often unique ideas and designs

constructed of advanced materials.

Through a cooperative agreement with

the Offshore Technology Research Center

at Texas A&M University, research is

conducted using model platforms in a

filled with 10 million liters of crystal

clear salt water. Public and private sector

agencies and organizations contract the

use of the facility to test oil-spill

containment and cleanup equipment

and techniques, to test remote-sensing

devices and alternative response

methods (in situ burning and

dispersants), and to conduct responder

training as well as basis research. 

As oil and gas exploration moves to

deeper and icier environments, it

becomes imperative that MMS has access

to the best scientific, technological, and

environmental information on which to

base decisions. The results of the TA&R

Program, incorporated with the

Environmental Studies Program, help

ensure an environmentally sound and

safe future for the OCS.

Left: Researcher testing oil in a laboratory at the

OHMSETT facility.

Right: Test of oil and gas rig sea state stability at the

Texas A&M facility wave pool in College Station, TX. 

wave tank. These experiments mimic the

impacts from ocean storms and are used

by engineers in the design of the

platform.

Information from the OSRR program

is used to make “regulatory decisions

pertaining to permitting and approving

plans, safety and pollution inspections,

enforcement actions, and training

requirements.” The goal of OSRR is to

ensure the best available oil-spill

response technology is immediately

available should any spill occur. The

focus of the program is to identify and

develop technology that will prevent any

offshore spill from reaching 

sensitive ecosystems on and offshore.

Essential to the OSRR program is

OHMSETT, the National Oil Spill

Response Test Facility located in

Leonardo, NJ, which provides testing,

training, and research opportunities for

TA&R program and industry scientists

and engineers. The aboveground

concrete test tank is one of the largest of

its kind, measuring 203 meters long x 20

meters wide x 3.4 meters deep, and is
10 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM

COLLECTING THE DATA

establishing baseline information

through biological, geological,

meteorological, and oceanographic

surveys and studies of the OCS. As more

information was cataloged, the emphasis

was narrowed to more specific topics,

problems, and phenomena. For example,

new technologies such as computermodeling have allowed for the

integration of information into

predictive models. These models enable

researchers to see more easily the “whole

picture” of the interaction of human,

marine and meteorological systems. But

models do not hold all of the answers,

so MMS is continually pursuing the

collection of data on everything from red

snapper around platforms, deep-sea

currents, location of archaeological

resources, and movements of sperm

whales.

Facilitating the sharing of new

information between the stakeholders,

the technical disciplines, and the

decisionmakers is also a goal of the ESP.

Numerous meetings and workshops,

which are open to the public, are used to

share this information among the

scientific experts, the MMS staff, and

anyone else who is interested in the

topics. In addition, research scientists are

encouraged to publish in peer-reviewed

journals and present findings at

conferences and symposia, sharing their

data with the rest of the scientific

community. Another information

dissemination tool is the Environmental

Studies Program Information System

(ESPIS), which makes the study findings

available online. 

Collecting the best data, making

sound interpretations, and sharing the

findings are all a part of the mission of

MMS and the Environmental Studies

Program. With this information, the

marine environment can continue to be

protected during development of the

Nation’s resources. 

F

rom the currents deep in the

ocean to the migration of birds,

the Minerals Management

Service (MMS) is collecting data

to be used to make sound

decisions about the impacts from

offshore oil and gas activities as well as

the recovery of sand for beach

renourishment. Through the

Environmental Studies Program (ESP),

scientific experts are enlisted to make the

observations, interpret the data, and

report to MMS about the different

aspects of the marine ecosystem. Within

MMS, the scientific staff takes this

information and uses it to make

evaluations that are presented to

decisionmakers who oversee the

resources of offshore Federal lands. 

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands

Act authorized the ESP in 1978 and

established three goals for the program:

• Define and gather the

information needed for the

assessment and management

of impacts on the human,

marine, and coastal

environments of the Outer

Continental Shelf (OCS) and

nearby coastal areas.

• Monitor and predict the

possible impact of chronic,

low-level pollution or other

large or small spills of oil

and gas, drilling fluids,

cuttings discharges, pipelines

or onshore facilities.

• Establish possible trends and

changes in human, marine,

and coastal environments

and the causes of those

changes.

The scope of this mission has made

ESP the “largest, single-agency, missionoriented, marine-studies Program in the

Federal Government.” Since its

inception, more than $750 million has

been invested by the ESP on research

and synthesis of information.

The emphasis of ESP has changed

over the years. The initial focus was

FOR OR MORE MORE INFORMA INFORMATION:

Environmental Research at MMS

Website: www.mms.gov/offshore/

EnvironmentalResearch.htm

Environmental Studies Program

Website: www.mms.gov/eppd/

sciences/esp/index.htm

Research diver collecting a water sample used to evaluate the use of oxygen by organisms that live in the

sediment. Photo by Gregory S. Boland.
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST 2005 11

NATIVE COLLABORATION AND OCS DEVELOPMENT IN ALASKA

A MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

Skin boat made with walrus skins, used by Alaskan Natives for whaling.

T

he search for new oil and gas

resources to meet our growing

energy needs is a national

priority. That search and

subsequent development

could potentially have an effect on the

subsistence and culture activities of the

Native populations of the region being

explored. One vital concern of the

Minerals Management Service (MMS) is

the potential for social and

environmental damage on local

populations, economies, and social and

cultural systems in areas where

exploration activities occur. The MMS

works with industry and native

populations to assess and document that

potential and to ensure that exploration

and development of the energy resources

is done in a manner that will avoid harm

to the sociological systems currently 

in place.

Three diverse areas in the Alaska

region are currently the subject of active

planning at MMS: the Beaufort Sea; the

Cook Inlet in the Gulf of Alaska; and the

northwest Alaskan coast, which includes

Hope Basin, Norton Basin, and the

Chukchi Sea. In these areas, environmental damage is of special concern

because it is the habitat of the marine

mammals and fish that native peoples

depend on; these are the natural

resources available locally for food,

shelter, and livelihood. The integration 

of traditional and local knowledge 

about the environment is vital to an

assessment of potential disturbance to

whale, mammal and fish habitat, 

which could negatively affect its

subsistence use.

The importance of input from the

Alaskan Native community in

development and exploration is

illustrated by the cooperative

relationship between MMS’s Alaska

Region and the North Slope Borough

(NSB), the Alaska Eskimo Whaling

Commission (AEWC), and Inupiat

Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS).

These groups

confer with

MMS to

address

environmental

and cultural

concerns to develop mutually agreed

upon compromises. In fact, as a

consequence of the strong working

relationship that has been developed, all

companies are required by MMS to

consult the AEWC before initiating any

exploration or development activity that

may affect the harvest of bowhead

whales. In addition, AEWC and MMS

coordinate research and survey activities

to ensure aerial data collection does not

interfere with subsistence harvests.

The Alaska Region Environmental

Studies Program has initiated

approximately 60 studies, which include

topics such as socio-economics, marine

mammals, birds, and oceanography.

Alaskan Native communities play a

significant role in the planning and

execution of these studies, as well as the

identification of areas that should be

studied. For example, in 2003, MMS

sponsored a workshop on Arctic cisco 

(a type of fish), which included Nuiqsut

village elders and outside experts. The

workshop resulted in a list of more than

60 issues and questions to be studied as

part of MMS’s ongoing mission.

Communication and data sharing

between the communities and the

Alaska Region is ongoing and helps

enhance the mutual understanding of

each party. Such joint efforts enhance the

stewardship of the environmental and

cultural resources of the Alaskan coast

and assist in building partnerships

between MMS and the communities that

depend on the subsistence resources.

An Alaskan Native

searching for whales

with binoculars. In

the forefront is a

harpoon attached to

a skin float. 
MMS OCEAN SCIENCE

Minerals Management Service

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1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70123

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MMS – A Leader in 

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Domestic Energy

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NEW WAVES Late-breaking News & Information

Sperm Whale Seismic Study Begins Final Year

T

he Gulf of Mexico has many whales and dolphins

(cetaceans), including a resident population of sperm

whales. The Gulf also has extensive offshore oil and

gas development, and concern exists that noise from

industry activities, in particular seismic

airguns, may create problems for

cetaceans that live in the same waters.

In 1999, the Minerals Management

Service (MMS) began planning a study to

investigate the lives of Gulf of Mexico

sperm whales and if seismic vessels and

offshore platforms affected them. In

2000-2001, MMS conducted a

preliminary study through cooperation

with the National Marine Fisheries Service

(NMFS) and in 2002, the Sperm Whale

Seismic Study (SWSS) began with

additional support from an Industry Research Funders

Coalition (IRFC), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the

National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Fish

and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). The 5-year Cooperative

Agreement, awarded to the Texas A&M

Research Foundation, is managed by the

Texas A&M Department of Oceanography

and includes researchers from around the

world. June 2005, begins the fourth and

the final year of research cruises for SWSS.

Next year will be devoted to analyzing

and reporting on data collected from all

the SWSS cruises and a final report will be

released in early 2007. How do you study

the lives of sperm whales? Check out the

MMS website at www.mms.gov/swss/ 

to learn more about this study and the

most recent cruise.

A Sperm whale exhaling (or blowing) 

in the Gulf of Mexico.