ABSTRACT
In the post-nep era two major new regulatory structures were put in place, the Canada Oil and Gas Lands Administration and the Office of Industrial and Regional Benefits. The former was a direct outcome of energy legislation and therefore a regulatory agency in the fullest sense. The “new boys” on the energy regulatory block joined a number of older “regulars” such as the National Energy Board, key provincial bodies such as the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board. The nep sought to shift the geo-political focus of oil and gas to the Canada Lands. It was therefore both an energy policy and a policy for the North. The negotiation of exploration agreements was not the only process involved. Also central to the process was the series of farm-ins that the multinational majors who still held the prime land or offshore sites entered into with the smaller Canadian firms.
