Chapter 10 – Legislation and The Future

Legislation and regulations regarding crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, and production of the resources from US offshore lands has developed over several decades in response to the concerns of governments and the affected populations. The most common early disputes revolved around ownership of coastal waters and as the development of offshore activities became more numerous and prominent, other issues arose over the need to ensure that offshore operations include the protection of marine and coastal environments as well as worker safety. This chapter presents an overview of the evolution of offshore developments and the major legislation and regulations that have affected offshore crude oil and natural gas development in the past half century