A Profile of the Oil and Gas Industry, Second Edition

CHAPTER 5

Regulations of the Oil Industry

Regulation of the petroleum industry is complicated. Within the United States, numerous environmental agencies have regulations that affect exploration, development, and production both onshore and offshore. However, in international locations, each country has developed its own guidelines, which often are not as stable as the industry would like. There are unique locations such as Antarctica that have special international treaties. Oil and gas industry companies have to learn about various regulations that affect the work they do, from initial exploration through development and production, and reporting of the reserves. Many oil and gas companies hire outside environmental experts to ensure compliance ...