Presentation
The Evolution of Oil and Gas Regulators in times of Climate Change: Institutional Responses to the Energy Transition
SessionTransfer of Knowledge
DescriptionThe fight against climate change, the societal pressure to decarbonize energy production and the emergence of renewable energy technologies contest the conventional design of offshore oil and gas regulators devoted to promote the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. In the last years some policymakers of offshore oil and gas producing countries reformed their hydrocarbons regulators to embrace these climatic demands, as it is illustrated with the cases of the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and Canada.
In 2005 the functions of the US federal offshore oil and gas regulator were expanded to include the grant of leases to produce energy from sources other than oil and
gas. Subsequently, in 2010 the US federal government changed the name of the Minerals Management Services (MMS) -the former oil and gas licensing authority- to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. In the UK, policymakers have reformed two institutions that regulate the offshore oil and gas sector. The Oil and Gas Authority was renamed in 2022 as the North Sea Transition Authority, while in 2023 the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy was redesigned to create the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Similarly, in Canada, the name of the oil and gas regulator of the province of British Columbia (BC) changed in 2022 from the BC Oil and Gas Commission (BCOGC) to the BC Energy Regulator, expanding its functions to energy resources and technologies such as hydrogen, and carbon capture and sequestration.
The rebranding of offshore oil and gas regulators to energy regulators has been received with skepticism by environmental non-governmental organizations and climate activists, which consider these changes as a form of “greenwashing” that might even endanger the advance of cleaner energy technologies. Though recent academic studies have analyzed the role of oil and gas major companies in the energy transition, less attention has been devoted to the organizational responses of hydrocarbon regulators to the energy transition. This paper aims to contribute to fill this research gap by comparing the institutional reforms of offshore hydrocarbons regulators undertaken in the US, the UK and Canada. Some pressing questions are: what is the role of offshore oil and gas regulators to decarbonize the energy sector?; what are the main changes introduced to offshore oil and gas regulators to foster the energy transition?, and what type of indicators may contribute to identify whether oil and gas regulators advance or refrain the energy transition? The analysis of the challenges faced by offshore oil and gas regulators in the countries selected, may offer lessons to other regulators around the world to respond to the societal demands for low carbon energy sources.
In 2005 the functions of the US federal offshore oil and gas regulator were expanded to include the grant of leases to produce energy from sources other than oil and
gas. Subsequently, in 2010 the US federal government changed the name of the Minerals Management Services (MMS) -the former oil and gas licensing authority- to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. In the UK, policymakers have reformed two institutions that regulate the offshore oil and gas sector. The Oil and Gas Authority was renamed in 2022 as the North Sea Transition Authority, while in 2023 the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy was redesigned to create the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Similarly, in Canada, the name of the oil and gas regulator of the province of British Columbia (BC) changed in 2022 from the BC Oil and Gas Commission (BCOGC) to the BC Energy Regulator, expanding its functions to energy resources and technologies such as hydrogen, and carbon capture and sequestration.
The rebranding of offshore oil and gas regulators to energy regulators has been received with skepticism by environmental non-governmental organizations and climate activists, which consider these changes as a form of “greenwashing” that might even endanger the advance of cleaner energy technologies. Though recent academic studies have analyzed the role of oil and gas major companies in the energy transition, less attention has been devoted to the organizational responses of hydrocarbon regulators to the energy transition. This paper aims to contribute to fill this research gap by comparing the institutional reforms of offshore hydrocarbons regulators undertaken in the US, the UK and Canada. Some pressing questions are: what is the role of offshore oil and gas regulators to decarbonize the energy sector?; what are the main changes introduced to offshore oil and gas regulators to foster the energy transition?, and what type of indicators may contribute to identify whether oil and gas regulators advance or refrain the energy transition? The analysis of the challenges faced by offshore oil and gas regulators in the countries selected, may offer lessons to other regulators around the world to respond to the societal demands for low carbon energy sources.
Event Type
Paper
TimeThursday, May 16th10:40am - 11:00am CDT
Location278-280
Restoration