Resource appraisals prepared by the USGS are submitted to the Bureau 

 of Land Management, whidh has leasing responsibilities for Outer Con- 

 tinental Shelf lands. Using the appraisals, together with environmental and 

 economic data supplied by other agencies, the Bureau of Land Management 

 has begun the implementation of a 5-year accelerated lease-sale schedule for 

 oil and gas to help alleviate the impending energy shortage. However, this 

 leasing program has been delayed due to controversies over environmental 

 issues. There also has been strong resistance to the proposed exploration of the 

 east coast. As a basis for planning and managing future mineral develop- 

 ment on the Outer Continental Shelf within the constraints of environmental 

 protection, the Bureau plans to initiate intensive analyses of the effects of 

 current and past mineral exploration, development, production, and trans- 

 portation on other marine resources and uses and to begin analyses of en- 

 vironmental, economic, and sociological factors in areas of potential future 

 mineral development. 



In 1972, the USGS expects to be overseeing about 700 oil-, gas-, and 

 sulfur-producing leases on the Outer Continental Shelf on which approxi- 

 mately 1,000 new exploratory and development wells will be drilled. The 

 management program also includes maintenance of about 750 royalty pro- 

 duction accounts and 725 royalty /rental accounts that should produce more 

 than $400 million in Federal revenues. Analyses of geological conditions and 

 engineering procedures before approval of proposed drilling for each of 

 the 1,000 new wells are aimed at assuring adequate safeguards against 

 blowouts and provide protection of the environment and other resources. 

 Analyses are also being made of about 7,000 lessee proposals for items such as 

 well spacing, well workovers and recompletions, equipment requirements, 

 unitizations, and transportation allowances for royalty accounting purposes. 

 A program to establish and monitor production rates for the Gulf of Mexico 

 has also been initiated. 



Marine Minerals Technology 



The work of NOAA's Marine Minerals Technology Center in assessing 

 the environmental impact of marine mining operations was noted in chap- 

 ter II. This effort is a part of the larger program in improved mining tech- 

 nology which deals mainly with tools of the trade and with the problems 

 of characterizing and monitoring marine mineral reserves. The region of 

 primary interest here is in the first 10 to 50 feet of unconsolidated sediments 

 on the ocean floor where bedded deposits, such as phosphorite and man- 

 ganese nodules, and potentially rich submerged beach and stream channel 

 placers may be found. 



A continuing program seeks to determine the state of the art of bottom- 

 sampling devices — piston corers and air-hammer drills — against the require- 

 ment for reliable, representative samples and various extractive techniques 

 for subsea mining. The Tiburon, Calif., facility is also examining the 

 marine potential of geophysical techniques used in land mining. One of 

 these, an experimental directional multiple-seismic-sound source, has pro- 

 duced seismic-reflection profiles which show excellent quality and depth of 

 penetration and is now being developed into a more complete prototype 



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