International Regulation of the Offshore Oil Business in the Arctic: The Case For and Against

摘要

The paper will describe the existing regulatory systems for the offshore in the Arctic. Drawing from offshore disasters and the responses thereto by the Coastal States around the world the paper will point to the arguments for and against international regulation of Arctic offshore areas. Organizations that might create such regulation are considered such as the Arctic Council, the International Maritime Organization, The International Regulators Forum, the oil company operators. Current debates concerning international regulation such as that of the EU (October 2011) proposal to create EU regulations for the offshore and the opposition by the Great Britain will be reviewed, as will be the Helix Mutual Aid solution in the Gulf of Mexico, the new Canadian filing requirements for Arctic Oil and Gas (December 2012) and others.