Who is BOEMRE?

Formerly Minerals Management Service (MMS), The Department of the Interior’s (DOI), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE)[1], is the federal agency responsible for overseeing the safe and environmentally responsible development of energy and mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf.

The Bureau is led by a Director appointed by the DOI Secretary. The Director is supported by senior executives who manage national programs, policy, and budget in Washington, DC (headquarters) and three regional directors responsible for management and program implementation.

History

Minerals Management Service (MMS) became BOEMRE after Macondo incident.

Locations

BOEMRE is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and the nearby suburb of Herndon, Va., with regional offices in Anchorage, Alaska; Camarillo, California; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

What does BOEMER do?

BOEMRE is responsible for overseeing the safe and environmentally responsible development of traditional and renewable ocean energy and mineral resources on 1.7 billion acres of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

According to their website, BOEMRE is leading the most aggressive and comprehensive reforms to offshore oil and gas regulation and oversight in U.S. history. The reforms, which strengthen requirements for everything from well design and workplace safety to corporate accountability, are helping ensure that the United States can safely and responsibly expand development of its energy resources. For more information about these reforms, please visit: http://www.boemre.gov/Reforms.htm.

Additionally, they conduct and oversee world-class research and environmental reviews to support decision-making regarding offshore conventional and renewable energy development. Each year, the bureau provides an average of $30 million toward environmental studies in the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific and off Alaska. To learn about our environmental studies program, please visit our Environmental Stewardship page at: http://www.boemre.gov/eppd/index.htm.

BOEMRE is leading the nation toward a renewable energy future. We have issued the first-ever lease for commercial wind energy development on the OCS, offshore Massachusetts, and we are working with states up and down the East Coast and along the Pacific to chart the path toward wind, wave and ocean current energy development. You can follow their progress on our State Activities page: http://www.boemre.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/StateActivities.htm.

BOEMRE offer rewarding careers for engineers, marine biologists, geologists, geophysicists, social scientists, environmental specialists, petroleum engineers, program analysts, statisticians and economists to name just a few. Their current vacancies can be found at: http://www.boemre.gov/jobs/index.htm.

BOEMRE is currently reorganizing to separate and provide greater independence for the complex and sometimes conflicting missions of the former Minerals Management Service. The bureau will divide into two new organizations on October 1, 2011; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Information about the new bureaus and progress toward the reorganization can also be found on our Reforms Page: http://www.boemre.gov/Reforms.htm.

References

  1. http://www.boemre.gov/