CONTINENTAL SHELF Clause Samples

CONTINENTAL SHELF. In the 1958 decree, Egypt claimed the continental shelf to width of 200 miles instead of the 1956 Bill of the Sea, this has not yet been updated ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, mainly because of the Declaration of ratification in 1983, Egypt has recognized that economic waters 200 Nautical miles, which implicitly claims the continental shelf for the same width. As described by ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇ (2010), "UNCLOS contains provisions for States to claim a continental shelf of 200 nautical miles from the baseline."

CONTINENTAL SHELF. CS as a concept emerged in 1945 with the US President ▇▇▇▇▇▇’▇ Proclamation109. The executive purpose of the Proclamation was the extending the US’s jurisdictional right over the submerged extension of the CS with the interest of the seabed and the subsoil. Following US, States in the South America have also claimed CSs with differing breadths110. With the increasing interest to the CS and the extensive claims of CS overlapping claims were made by the States resulting in new maritime boundary delimitation disputes. The definition and international regulation of the CS is taken into consideration on UNCLOS I in 1958 and at the end of the conferences the “Convention on the Continental Shelf” entered into force in 1964. Article 1 of the Convention describes CS as follows111: “For the purpose of these articles, the term ‘continental shelf’ is used as referring (a) to the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the 106 Ibid. Article 33(1)(a). 107 ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇.: Theory and History of Ocean Boundary-Making, ▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇'▇ University Press, 1988 Montreal, p. 227. 108 ▇▇▇▇▇▇, “Interim Measures”, 358. 109 See footnote 7, the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Proclamation. 110 Kingston, 103. 111 Convention on the Continental Shelf, 2. natural resources of the said areas; (b) to the seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas adjacent to the coasts of islands.” The CS is the inherent right of the coastal States and considered as the natural prolongation of the State thorough the understanding of being natural continuation of the continent where the coastal State112. Therefore, the definition in the UNCLOS I was built upon the geographical description of the CS and was more advantageous for the oceanic States. Also, in Article 1 of the UNCLOS I the sovereign rights over the CS were limited to the natural resources on the seabed and under the subsoil. The CS does not include the water column above it as well as the superjacent air space113.

CONTINENTAL SHELF the area of seabed around a large land mass where the sea is relatively shallow compared with the open ocean. The continental shelf is geologically part of the continental crust. As the platform shall be designed with both above and under water facilities and equipment in mind, the choice of zone boils down to either a country’s territorial waters or on the high seas.  Political climate The political climate is the aggregate mood and opinions of a political society, which is generally regarded as either changing (unstable) or in equilibrium (stable). Only locations in countries with a stable political climate are considered.  Seismic / Volcanic activity Zones where seismic or volcanic activity resulting in possible tsunamis or in other ways interfering with the day-to- day activities of the platform should be avoided unless these calamities can be quickly and safely mitigated. Only locations in countries with a low or no risk of seismic and volcanic activities are considered.