Regionalization as an Effect of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation: A Case Study of the North Sea

This study attempts to analyze whether oil and gas exploitation in a semi-enclosed sea will result in closer relations being developed in the region leading to the establishment of a special regime for that sea. The study area is Northwestern Europe which is centered on the North Sea. All the littoral states of Northwestern Europe have major interests in the North Sea, one of which is oil and gas exploitation. This study is developed through the examination of the activities in the North Sea, related to oil and gas production, which tend to join the region together followed by an analysis of those factors which would retard the regionalization process. Of particular importance is whether the inhibiting factors in the North Sea are long or short term problems