Article by Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez
Chinese offshore investments in the oil and gas sector around the world are on the rise. Like dragons roaming the seas trying to dominate the tides, Chinese state-owned companies are particularly eager to bid for oil fields in maritime borderlines. This Article tells the story of how Chinese state-owned companies are overpaying for oil on the US-Mexico boundary to gather experience on how China's global competitors handle resource development conflicts. My argument is that Chinese participation in transboundary field development fits within a long-term strategy to master international legal regimes. The presence of these petro-dragons in borderlines is an example of the use of law as a tool for a rising global power; of an effort to acquire the legal know-how of existing dominant actors to eventually recalibrate it for the benefit of the Chinese people in the South China Sea. From now on, the United States will have to consider the example it is setting for its junior rival in joint resource development zones. Petro-dragons are loose and drilling in the high seas, ready to bring home what they learn from the West. Is the North American region prepared for the challenge?
About the Author
Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez: Associate Professor, Texas A&M University School of Law; S.J.D., Harvard Law School; LL.M., Harvard Law School; LL.M. in International Law, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; LL.B. in Law and LL.B. in International Relations, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico
Citation
94 Tul. L. Rev. 313 (2020)