Legal framework for the offshore operations of the Mexican Oil Industry from a systemic environmental perspective

In general, the assessment of the environmental impact of fossil oil exploration and exploitation is related to pollution, particularly to oil spills. However, this is a limited view of the implications of the problem because there are other deleterious effects that are assumed to be assimilated by the resilient capacity of the marine environment. However, some criteria to evaluate and cope with these additional effects have emerged and should be incorporated into the legislation of such activities. This rationale is applied to oil exploration and exploitation in the southwest of the Gulf of Mexico. The aim is to contribute to the development of a regional framework for the sustainable management of marine water natural resources. An analysis of 10 criteria and 38 attributes of sustainability and impacts caused by this activity were applied here to 26 Mexican legislative instruments. Cluster and multivariate analyses were performed to map the interrelations among legal instruments. The results show a failure of 51–92% to control marine impacts from marine oil drilling and exploitation. Attributes that should be reinforced in the already existing Mexican legal framework include seismic surveys, explosion control, oil pipe networks, oil rig deployment, dredging, channel opening, and ballast water discharge. Moreover, two of these key legal Instruments regulating oil offshore environmental impacts need to be improved: Norm 149-SEMARNAT-2006 and the Environmental Impact Assessment regional guidelines.

► We analyzed legal framework of oil exploration and exploitation offshore. ► Mexican framework lacks 92% of environmental impact and sustainability criteria. ► Explosion control and ballast water discharge rules must be addressed. ► Specific legal instruments of oil offshore activities need to be improved.