Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rendered a decision affecting work on the Outer Continental Shelf. The OCS is an artificial offshore boundary where the United States claims jurisdiction over its use, including the exploration for oil and gas. For Texas, state jurisdiction extends three marine leagues seaward from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), 43 U.S.C. §1331, provides the federal authority to govern and regulate OCS operations and extends at least 200 nautical miles seaward from its baseline. Contracts and incidents on the OCS often create a legal conundrum where maritime, federal and state law interests intersect because offshore operations involve maritime and nonmaritime services. A practitioner advising a client on the enforceability of certain contract provisions must determine the applicable law.
Mixed Contracts Create Mixed Interpretations
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