Offshore regulatory problems

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980 · Am. Gas Assoc., Oper. Sect., Proc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6108095

Cassell, J K

Although the environmentally oriented laws enacted by Congress during the past 15 years are well-intentioned, their combined effect is to hamper the US offshore petroleum-development program; for outer continental shelf (OCS) lease sales in frontier areas, delays of 3-6 years are not unusual. The OCS Lands Act Amendments, for example, call for lengthy, tedious steps preceding an OCS sale; to an even greater degree, however, the regulations written to implement such laws, along with the corresponding conflicts among various agencies having entirely different objectives, contribute to the nightmarish regulatory maze confronting offshore operations. Several measures could help relieve this stranglehold: (1) either create an effective Energy Mobilization Board or give the US Department of Energy the authority to expedite projects, (2) pass corrective legislation that will give the federal government more complete control, (3) review the various regulatory functions and weed out conflicts that prevent energy development, and (4) eliminate the existing counterproductive duplication of regulatory agency functions.

• OSTI ID: 6108095
• Journal Information: Am. Gas Assoc., Oper. Sect., Proc.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Gas Assoc., Oper. Sect., Proc.; (United States); ISSN POAGA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
031000* -- Natural Gas-- Legislation & Regulations
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
CONTINENTAL SHELF
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INDUSTRY
LEASES
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
OFFSHORE OPERATIONS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
REGULATIONS
RESOURCES
USA