ABSTRACT
The response of the UK Government has taken two major directions. Firstly it has been concerned to make sure that British industry gains some of the benefits from spin-off investment and economic development. Secondly, since the Labour Party resumed office in 1974 it has made certain demands for an increased slice in the profits of the oil companies, from North Sea oil. Government participation will mean that attitudes to labour may undergo certain changes, and there is no doubt that increased focus on offshore activities has meant more regulation and a growing concern over matters such as safety. Offshore oil has thus rapidly become a central issue of government policy. In Venezuela, Nigeria, Australia, Japan and North America, as well as the traditional Middle-Eastern oil producing nations the same kinds of arguments about oil and its effects take place at one level of government or another.
