US fiscal 2005 budget request includes $282.4 million for MMS

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 6 -- US President George W. Bush's fiscal 2005 budget request includes a $282.4 million allocation for the US Minerals Management Service. That compares with a 2004 enacted MMS budget of $270.5 million.

MMS Director Johnnie Burton met with oil industry leaders in New Orleans on Feb. 3 to discuss proposed funding levels for the MMS' New Orleans. She also discussed research and technology goals for the agency's Gulf of Mexico region.

The MMS budget proposal includes $1.9 million to support digital geological interpretive tools, including a 3D visualization room in the New Orleans office, well log digitizing resources, and software training.

"The new technology is aimed at ensuring that MMS maintains technological parity with the private sector. This capacity allows MMS to better perform resource evaluations for fair value determinations, resource conservation, and hazards assessments," an agency news release said.

MMS manages the nation's oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in federal water. The agency also collects, accounts for, and distributes mineral revenues from federal and American Indian lands.