Who owns the rights to drill in the Gulf of Mexico?
I’m guessing it is the U.S., but I’m not certain. If one wants to drill for oil anywhere in the Gulf, can they just do it or do they need a permit from some issuing authority? If the US is the “owner”, how did they pull that one off?
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There are 7 main areas of the Gulf of Mexico. The right to drill will depend on which area and proximity to its land mass.
Every country bordering the Gulf has rights to a portion of it. There may soon be drilling rigs within sight of the Florida Keys, if China and Cuba ever finalize their deal.
It’s within the 200 statute miles on the US portion of the continental shelf. The US government in theory receives royalties and taxes from negotiated leases. In reality, Congress is owned by Big Oil, and the office within the Dept of the Interior is so close to Big Oil (they attend sex and drug parties that the oil companies throw for them) that they are nearly unregulated, and are actually highly subsidized by you, the taxpayer. The Republican Party (anti-tax, anti-welfare) has found a way to rationalize taking money from you, and giving it to the oil companies.
@dpworkin you can’t blame that entirely on the republicans. Democrats have been doing almost exactly the same thing.
Democrats are in favor of welfare!
@dpworkin They say they are, but actually they are only in favor of keeping the status quo in Washington. They want power, and are willing to share some with the repubs or demos in order not to have to share with anyone else.
The two party system is a crock of shit anyway. If you believe one side is responsible for drilling in the gulf over the other then you are wrong. Dem or Repub, they are all having their pockets lined somewhere from someone. The evils lie within the two party system, both are guilty of being full-time assholes.
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