Environmental Regulations: Impact on the United States Petroleum Exploration and Production Industry.

摘要

In the past 20 years environmental regulations have progressed from being nearly nonexistent to a main concern in an oil company's activities. This thesis reviews the more significant environmental regulations, focusing on how these regulations have impacted the U.S. oil and gas exploration and production industry. A brief history of each environmental Act is given. Then the current regulations, stemming from these Acts and their amendments, are reviewed. Also, a brief overview of the common wastes generated in the oil and gas exploration and production industry and the waste management practices used to deal with these wastes are discussed. Finally, the economic impacts of these regulations are reviewed.