A strategic resource which is heavily influenced by international politics, North Sea oil and gas production has become an important economic and symbolic issue. Comparing the different government policies of Denmark, Great Britain, and Norway, Andersen explores the strategies each country uses and explains the resulting developments. He stresses that these differences reflect the resource base, lobbying patterns, and governmental need for revenue--emphasizing the importance of national policy paradigms underlying policy formation.

Exploring the themes of the human relationship with the marine environment and the ways in which the peoples of Northern Europe have experienced and exploited their seas, this book reveals how human perception of the northern seas has changed over time. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, from Denmark and Britain to Norway, Finland and Germany, The Baltic and the North Seas is an insightful and colourful history of the politics, economy and culture of this intriguing region.

in Congress – are not considered, they may affect future energy programs just as they have past programs. Finally, potentially ruinously costly increases in energy imports force attention to the problem of how major public policy plans have been and are prepared in the United States. A witches’ brew of some 500 energy bills proposed in the 110th C ongress in the House and Senate is now being stirred up. This “inspirational” approach to public policymaking bears little resemblance to the thoughtful way critical policies have been developed in the EU. A change of the way major national planning is undertaken may do more than anything else to bring facts and reality into play, reduce hostilities, open up cooperation, new resources, technologies, creative energies, and productivity toward energy policy transitions. Chapter 6 Foreign Experience 6. 1 The European Union and Other Nations Take the Lead “The EU has pioneered a new form of post-national government, in which nation-states pool some of their sovereignty for the common good. Many of its admirers see this as a useful potential model for Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, China-Taiwan, Latin America, parts of Africa and so on. The EU takes some issues, like human rights, global warming and the fostering of an international system of justice, with admirable seriousness . . . . . . Considering the kind of Europe it replaced, the EU has been an almost miraculous success (Walker, 2007).

This first of two volumes of collected papers and essays charts the sequence of significant developments over the past 40 years of the most international of industries—that of gas and oil. Explained are the physical attributes of oil and gas resources, reserves, and supply in their economic and political settings, with an emphasis on the quantities. This book also explores the economic and political inputs to the global oil and gas industry’s organization and markets since the early 1960s and the consequences of a loss of control, not only for the industry itself, but also for the western world’s economy and its political stability.

This book is organized around 50 commentaries on geopolitical energy subjects. It begins with a focus on the Americas, but then quickly skips to more international destinations encompassing five continents. The commentaries reflect on the politics emanating from the post-2014 decline in world oil and gas prices and the attendant massive increase in supply—particularly North American supply—brought on by the discovery and development of unconventional sources of energy. The commentaries give the reader a real-time perspective on politics that brings to life the current history of national and sub-national jurisdictions. As such, they offer the perspective of history “on the move.”

This collection, featuring an impressive list of contributors, covers themes including maritime history, environmental issues, public policy, technology and resources as well as open sea development and management.

Focussing on the change and development of national gas markets in Europe, this book provides an overview, analysis and comparison of recent dynamics in several national gas markets, at a time of very rapid change within this industry. This overview provides a better understanding of current events and future evolution in the European gas business.What can be expected at the European level given the recent trends and dynamics in national gas markets in Europe? How did countries respond to the EU gas directive and why? What are the important barriers to a harmonised European gas market from the perspective of national developments? This book tackles these and related questions.Written by experts across the field of energy policy and reform, this publication will be an invaluable resource for social scientists studying the ongoing reform process in energy markets as well as industry analysts, consultants, policy makers and utility companies worldwide.