In countries like the US, Germany and Australia that have a federal system of government, is offshore natural resources such as Oil and Gas owned by the states or the federal government?
-
1Any reason to think it's different offshore vs. onshore?– gerritNov 30, 2018 at 10:19
-
1I think we need to draw a distinction between "control" and "ownership". In some countries (like Norway, Mexico, etc.), oil companies are state-owned enterprises, whereas in other counties (like the United States, Canada, etc.) oil companies are privately owned. So your question would be about who exercises regulatory authority in those cases.– Wes SayeedNov 30, 2018 at 19:59
1 Answer
In Australia, states control operations up to 3 miles from the coast, and the federal government beyond that. Source: Geoscience Australia website: http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/energy/legislation/offshore-legislation
In the US it is similar, according to Wikipedia, with states controlling up to 3 miles from the coast and federal government beyond (this is a result of the 1953 Submerged Land Act): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshore_oil_and_gas_in_the_United_States
This is only a partial answer but I'm sure you could find information on other countries with a bit of Googling.
-
1For example, Switzerland to this day does not have a law regarding this issue because it's a Land-Locked Country and doesn't need to worry about territorial waters (It's lakes are presumably managed by the Cantons they reside in and are protected militarily by the Swiss Militia).– hszmvNov 30, 2018 at 19:22