Secretary of Commerce Frederick B. Dent today announced the appointment of fifteen distinguished persons to serve as members of the newly formed Marine Petroleum and Minerals Advisory Committee.The purpose of the committee is to advise the Secretary of Commerce on matters pertinent to the department's responsibilities related to marine petroleum and marine minerals resources on means to facilitate cooperation between the private sectors and government in these matters and on related Law of the Sea affairs. Under provisions of the committee's charter there may be up to twenty‐five members, each serving a two‐year term. The members represent the industrial, labor, academic, legal, environmental, and economic sectors concerned with the management, use, conservation, and development of marine petroleum and marine minerals resources.