US OCS Upstream Fiscal and Regulatory Report - Favorable Fiscal Terms but Strong State and Judicial Opposition to Expanding the OCS on Offer

US OCS Upstream Fiscal and Regulatory Report - Favorable Fiscal Terms but Strong State and Judicial Opposition to Expanding the OCS on Offer

Summary

The Unites States offers regular licensing rounds paired with favorable fiscal and stable regulatory terms, which score well for licensees when compared with neighboring countries’ petroleum fiscal frameworks. However, the administration’s decision of halting the opening up to hydrocarbons exploration of practically all parts of the OCS as a result of strong political and judicial opposition leaves the schedule of the lease sales based on the 2017-2022 program. The result will be slowing investments pace as initially planned when the administration introduced the draft program 2019-2024. Whether or not additional OCS areas are opened, the Gulf of Mexico is likely to continue to contribute the bulk of licensing activity. The administration has recently reduced its fiscal take favoring investors, but few significant further changes appear on the horizon.

“US OCS Upstream Fiscal and Regulatory Report - Favorable Fiscal Terms but Strong State and Judicial Opposition to Expanding the OCS on Offer”, presents the essential information relating to the terms which govern investment into United States’s upstream oil and gas sector. The report sets out in detail the contractual framework under which firms must operate in the industry, clearly defining factors affecting profitability and quantifying the state’s take from hydrocarbon production. Considering political, economic and industry specific variables, the report also analyses future trends for United States’s upstream oil and gas investment climate.

Scope

- Overview of current fiscal terms governing upstream oil and gas operations in United States
- Assessment of the current fiscal regime’s state take and attractiveness to investors
- Charts illustrating the regime structure, and legal and institutional frameworks
- Detail on legal framework and governing bodies administering the industry
- Levels of upfront payments and taxation applicable to oil and gas production
- Information on application of fiscal and regulatory terms to specific licenses
- Outlook on future of fiscal and regulatory terms in United States.

Reasons to buy

- Understand the complex regulations and contractual requirements applicable to United States’s upstream oil and gas sector
- Evaluate factors determining profit levels in the industry
- Identify potential regulatory issues facing investors in the country’s upstream sector
- Utilize considered insight on future trends to inform decision-making.