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Ukraine: Black Sea territorial dispute resolved

Ukraine
11/02/2009
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An area of continental shelf in the Black Sea reported to contain huge reserves of oil and gas has been awarded 80% to Romania and 20% to Ukraine by the International Court of Justice.

The territory comprises part of the continental shelf around a rocky outcrop – owned by Ukraine and known as Serpents’ Island – which contains a reported 100 billion m3 of natural gas and 10 million tonnes of crude oil.

The ICJ is the United Nations’ highest court and its rulings cannot be appealed.

Tenders to extract these resources can now be organised by the Ukrainian and Romanian governments. Media reports suggest that Total, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and OMV have all expressed an interest in investing in the area.

Romania took the dispute to the court in 2004 after the collapse of bilateral negotiations over the continental shelf boundary. The ICJ ruled that Serpents’ Island was not a core feature in establishing the maritime boundary. The new border includes a 12 nautical mile arc (22 kilometres) around Serpents’ Island until it intersects with a line equidistant to Ukraine and Romania’s coasts.

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