Law Commons^™

This article, adapted from the LSU Law Center Symposium, Emerging Issues at the Intersection of Energy and Natural Resources (March 4, 2016), reviews, in brief, the decline in petroleum commodity prices; the magnitude and importance of the Canadian exploration and production sector (with particular attention given to its relationship with the United States); the effects of the drop in commodity prices in Canada and the challenges faced by the Canadian energy industry; and possible strategies for Canada to weather the decline and improve its resistance to future price volatility.

There is an incredible increase in earthquake activity in traditionally non-seismically active states, such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Ohio. In fact, Oklahoma has surpassed California to become the most seismically active state in the United States. Over the last five years, many researchers have pointed to a correlation between seismic activity and certain oil and gas operations, such as wastewater fluid injection and hydraulic fracturing. Oil and gas companies, state regulatory agencies, and local and state governments are unsure of how to proceed given that most of this activity is occurring in states with a strong and economically vested …

A monopoly is nothing but a magician’s trick—an illusion where producers artificially control supply to maintain the perception of scarcity. While the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has successfully maintained control over crude oil prices, the question arises whether a similar organization will form to control the natural gas market. Monopolies are not a new international or domestic phenomenon. During the late nineteenth century in South Africa, DeBeers founder Cecil Rhodes recognized that if diamonds became commonplace their value would decrease substantially. The diamond industry was consolidated under Rhodes’s influence, and the international diamond cartel has since regulated the …