Establishing Transboundary Marine Energy Security and Environmental Cooperation Areas as a Method of Resolving Longstanding Political Disagreements and Improving Transboundary Resource Management in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

This article examines the longstanding political and legal obstacles to bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico and suggests that bilateral cooperation could be improved without antagonizing long-standing political tensions by creating one or more Transboundary Energy Security and Environmental Cooperation Areas (TESECA) in the GOM's maritime boundary region. Two areas, in particular, that straddle the maritime boundary are especially well suited. The first is known as the Perdido Foldbelt Region, where large quantities of hydrocarbons are known to exist in transboundary reservoirs. The second is the area beyond national jurisdiction known as the Western Gap, which is already governed by an international treaty between the two nations. Creating a TESECA in these areas will provide a valuable institutional forum for bilateral discussion and development of cooperative management opportunities for transboundary hydrocarbons as well as the protection of the marine environment.