The development of offshore oil, gas and other mineral resources in the United States is impacted by a number of interrelated legal regimes, including international, federal and state laws. International law provides a framework for establishing national ownership or control of offshore areas, and U.S. domestic law has adopted these internationally recognized principles. This book describes the nature of U.S. authority over offshore areas pursuant to international and domestic law and explains the laws, at both the state and federal levels, governing the development of offshore oil and gas and the litigation that has flowed from development under these legal regimes; recent changes to authorities regulating offshore development and legislative proposals concerning offshore oil and natural gas exploration and production.