Walter Cruickshank was named acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), part of the US Department of the Interior. He replaced departing chief Tommy Beaudreau, who became Interior Secretary Sally Jewell's chief of staff on 5 May.
Cruickshank is a veteran Interior Department official, has been the offshore bureau's second-in-command for more than a decade, and will now head the bureau that oversees development of oil and gas, renewable energy, and sand and gravel on about 1.7 billion acres of federal waters.
BOEM programs center around US offshore resources, including leasing, plan administration, environmental studies, National Environmental Policy Act analysis, resource evaluation, economic analysis and the Renewable Energy Program.
Prior to becoming the Deputy Director of BOEM upon its establishment in October 2011, Cruickshank served as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the former Minerals Management Service (MMS) since 2002.
Cruickshank has worked in the Department of the Interior for more than 25 years. He earned a BA in Geological Sciences from Cornell University and a PhD in Mineral Economics from the Pennsylvania State University.
