Oil & Gas Law Research: Internet Resources

The Interstate Compact Oil & Gas Commission "assists member states [to] efficiently maximize oil and natural gas resources through sound regulatory practices while protecting our nation's health, safety and the environment." The Commission's website offers free access to numerous reports that the group has published.

The American Petroleum Institute is "the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America's oil and natural gas industry." The website offers reports and comments on safety, statistics, and various current policy concerns.

The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation "is a collaborative educational non-profit organization dedicated to the scholarly and practical study of the law and regulations relating to mining, oil and gas, water, public lands, energy, environmental protection, and other related areas." It offers numerous seminars and publications that discuss recent legal developments in the energy field.

• The Department of Energy is the primary government agency dealing with Oil and Gas issues. The Department website gives visitors access to other important energy-related government websites and contains information about various energy sources.
• The Environmental Protection Agency is another key government agency that affects Oil and Gas. This agency is concerned with ensuring that energy production does not harm the environment and with educating the public regarding current environmental issues. To reach information relevant to the Oil and Gas industry, click Laws & Regulations, select the Water Topic, and then select Hydraulic Fracturing. Alternatively, the visitor can select Business Sector, then  Oil & Gas Extraction Sectors. 
• The Bureau of Land Management's Oil and Gas program is "one of the most important mineral leasing programs in the Federal government." The BLM's website provides overviews of recent oil and gas reforms, statistics, forms, operating requirements, permitting information, question and answer sections, and more.
• The Federal government's Small Business Administration maintains a website with "resources to help oil and gas producers and distributors comply with laws and government regulations." The website includes guidelines, regulations, and forms for oil and gas specifically as well as general environmental regulations.
• The United States Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program provides scientific information for objective resource assessments and unbiased research results on mineral potential, production, consumption, and environmental effects." This is a great resource for information about "where mineral commodities are known and suspected in the Earth's crust" and for data regarding "current production and consumption." 
• The Federal Trade Commission exercises great oversight over the oil and gas industry in an effort to protect consumers. The Commission operates to "maintain competition" in the industry, and its website offers insight into the FTC's actions relating to "merger enforcement, anticompetitive nonmember activity, and gasoline price data." Various documents such as Congressional testimony and conference proceedings are available.