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South Africa’s Extended Continental Shelf Project Petroleum Agency SA is on the brink of securing a vast new territory for exploraration.
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outh Africa is on the verge of claiming a vast new track of territory offshore which if successful, can open up new territory for research and exploration. Under maritime law, coastal states have sovereign right to a number of maritime zones, including the Territorial Sea (up to 22 km from shore), the Contiguous zone (44 km from shore) and the Exclusive Economic Zone (370 km from shore).
Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 makes provision for states to claim an additional zone, which is called the Extended Continental Shelf. In South Africa’s case, this extended area could amount to far more than our country’s existing landmass, offering vast new exploration opportunities for local and international companies. Petroleum Agency SA has been driving the application for our extended continental shelf, and naturally they will also be charged with regulating exploration and production activity in the area should it be opened for petroleum exploration and production. “One of the Mozambique
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Amended Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf of RSA beyond 200M SOUTH AFRICA’S EXISTING TERRITORY Sa’s part of the joint claim with France for the Discovery Ridge to be completed
RSA SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2016 1 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
Area (sq kms) 1,220,000
Land - RSA Mainland
76
Sea - EEZ of RSA Mainland & Prince Edward Islands
1,540,000
NEW EXTENDED CONTINENTAL SHELF
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1. West Coast 2. East and South Coast
provisions of Article 76 suggest, that if a coastal state can demonstrate that the landmass naturally extends beyond 200 NM, the coastal state has an entitlement to delineate an extended continental shelf,” says Sean Johnson, Manager: Unconventional Resource Evaluation, Petroleum Agency SA. “However, in terms of sovereignty over resources, you only have entitlement to what is on the seabed and what is underneath – you don’t get the fish stocks and living resources within the water column!” South Africa made two submissions to the United Nations in May 2009. The first concerning the continental shelf surrounding the South African mainland, while the second for the region of the Prince Edwards islands, both of which would add extensive additional territorial sea areas.
45,000 1,075,000
UNCLOS 82 is a remarkable inte r n atio n a l ag re e m e nt encompassing all aspects of governance of the world’s oceans. A country’s continental shelf can include submarine plateaus and ridges that extend from the continental margins of coastal states beyond their