Offshore oil & gas drilling -- who owns the resource?
I was thinking about Norway and their oil money.
Along the coast, the US border extends 200 miles into the ocean, according to the US energy information administration.
Why aren't our coffers overflowing with oil and gas money?
"The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement manage the development of offshore energy resources by private companies that lease areas for energy development from the federal government. These companies pay royalties to the government on the energy resources they produce from the leased areas in the ocean. Most states control the 3-mile area that extends off of their coasts, but Florida, Texas, and some other states control the waters for as much as 9 miles to 12 miles off of their coasts."
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=oil_offshore
Is the way we handle this situation another scam benefiting the wealthy?
For example, a government take of 50 percent means that the government receives 50 percent of the cash flow produced from an oil or gas field. In fiscal year 2006, oil and gas companies received over $77 billion from the sale of oil and gas produced from federal lands and waters, and the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) reported that these companies paid the federal government about $10 billion in oil and gas royalties.
...Based on results of a number of studies, the U.S. federal government receives one of the lowest government takes in the world. Collectively, the results of five studies presented in 2006 by various private sector entities show that the United States receives a lower government take from the production of oil in the Gulf of Mexico than do states--such as Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, California, and Louisiana--and many foreign governments. Other government-take studies issued in 2006 and prior years similarly show that the United States has consistently ranked low in government take compared to other governments. In deciding where and when to invest oil and gas development dollars, companies consider the government take as well as other factors, including the size and availability of the oil and gas resources in the ground; the costs of finding and developing these resources, including labor costs and the costs of compliance with environmental regulations; and the stability of the fiscal system and the country in general.
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-676R
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