§1356b Transboundary hydrocarbon agreements

Summary

After December 26, 2013, the Secretary may carry out any transboundary hydrocarbon agreement the President made and Congress approved for oil and gas reservoirs that cross international borders. When doing so, the Secretary must protect U.S. interests, help create domestic jobs, and make sure development and conservation of Outer Continental Shelf resources happen quickly, orderly, and under all U.S. laws that apply to exploration, development, and production. If all parties agree and the President says the agreement is not a treaty, the Secretary must send it within 180 days to the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, the chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, and the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The package must show any law changes needed, the economic effects on U.S. Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas activity, and the likely regulations to be issued. The Secretary may also carry out the Agreement between the United States and Mexico signed at Los Cabos on February 20, 2012, by approving unitization deals, sharing confidential information in limited ways, following expert decisions, and limiting stop-work authority to proper inspection staff. The Secretary may not enter talks with Cuba about Gulf activities along the U.S.‑Cuba border or the area called the “Eastern Gap,” and nothing here changes U.S. sovereign rights over the Outer Continental Shelf.