FOR RELEASE: February 21, 1995             CONTACT:  Lee Scurry
                                                 (202) 208-3983
                                                    John Romero
                                                 (805) 389-7533

                       MMS AWARDS $1.4 MILLION FOR 
         CALIFORNIA OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS ENERGY RESOURCES STUDY

     The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management
Service (MMS) has awarded $1.4 million to Dames & Moore of Santa
Barbara, CA, to study offshore development scenarios in the Tri-
County area of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, MMS
officials announced today.

     The California Offshore Oil and Gas Energy Resources
(COOGER) study will provide information about onshore constraints
associated with five hypothetical levels of offshore development
-- ranging from no new development to full development -- on
active, but undeveloped leases, offshore California, between the
years 1995-2015.  The analysis will consider geologic and
petroleum engineering issues, zoning and transportation policies,
and local, state and federal regulations.

     "MMS initiated this effort in response to local and state
constituents' interests about the future of offshore development
in the Tri-County area," said MMS Acting Director Cynthia
Quarterman.  "MMS, the State of California, the three county
governments involved, and the oil and gas industry all worked
together to define the parameters of the study.  The results will
add greatly to the information needed for future decisions about
offshore natural gas and oil activities.

     "A significant component of the project will be the
opportunity for the people in the Tri-Counties to attend public
workshops to discuss the results of the study," Quarterman said. 

     "The award of the COOGER study reflects an unprecedented
level of cooperation and dedication between the Tri-Counties, 
the State of California,  the oil industry,  and the MMS,"  said
Dr. J. Lisle Reed,  Regional Director for the MMS Pacific Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) Region.  "This study will provide all
parties with valuable information on the benefits and risks of
offshore energy development and the regulations that pertain to
potential activity." 

     Companies holding leases in the study area are also
contributing funds toward the study.  The final report is
scheduled to be published by July 1997.

     MMS is the federal agency that manages and regulates the
nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the
Outer Continental Shelf, and collects and disburses revenues from
offshore federal mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases
on federal and Indian lands.
                                    -MMS-