to delineate the outer continental shelf limits. Ultimately, it is the view adopted in
this work that to study the Brazilian environmental regulatory maneuver on the
continental shelf is to study the broader policy and legislative stances adopted by
Brazilian authorities with respect to the regulation of the maritime spaces under
national jurisdiction—i.e. the Blue Amazon.
9.2 The Brazilian Extended Continental Shelf: A Larger
Blue Amazon
Brazil’s strategic interests on the continental shelf date back to 1950, when Act
no. 28.840 incorporated the continental shelf to the national “territory”. After that,
several constitutional and ordinary laws regulated the continental shelf, including the
notorious Decree no. 1.078/1970, which expanded Brazilian sovereignty seaward up
to 200 nm, including on the continental shelf. By then, it had become clear to
national strategists that the seabed is as relevant to economic prosperity as the
other dimensions of the ocean. The 1970 “Sovereignty” Act
had among other objectives to establish unequivocally that the country sovereignty over the
seabed and its subsoil extends until at least the distance of 200 nautical miles. This distance
goes far beyond where the depth 200 meters from the Brazilian shore. In other hand, the
adoption of the 200 miles did not implied the renunciation to the continental margin areas
(or the continental shelf, in the proper sense), which has proven to extend beyond this
limit.
82
The next legislative step was to adopt the 1988 Federal Constitution and to
promulgate UNCLOS domestically via Act no. 8.617/93, whose Art. 11 specifically
disciplines the continental shelf regime—provisions which will be examined further
below.
Such strategic interest attributed to the continental shelf is not unfounded. Its
riches lie not only on the economic potential of non-living resources, mainly
hydrocarbons and minerals—as confirmed by the REMPLAC Action, mentioned
supra, but also on the biodiversity universe to be unveiled thereon. It is no novelty
that massive hydrocarbon reserves exist in the so-called “pre-salt” area, which
extends beyond 200 nm. In 2005, the Brazilian oil state company, Petrobras,
published the first evidences of oil and gas in the pre-salt fields, namely in the
Santos Basin (Tupi Field). In 2008, production in situ kicked off and the first oil
barrel from the pre-salt was sucked up from the Campos Basin—off the coast of
Rio.
83
82 Castro (1989), p. 20.
83 See Section “Facts and Info” of the Petrobras website. From the first oil extracted in the pre-salt in
September 2008 to the volume of 2.07 million barrels-per-day achieved in April 2020, results have
been largely positive. There has been a surge since late 2018, when production reached 1.5 million
bpd. Available at: https://petrobras.com.br/fatos-e-dados/. Accessed 11 April 2020.
270
9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...
this work that to study the Brazilian environmental regulatory maneuver on the
continental shelf is to study the broader policy and legislative stances adopted by
Brazilian authorities with respect to the regulation of the maritime spaces under
national jurisdiction—i.e. the Blue Amazon.
9.2 The Brazilian Extended Continental Shelf: A Larger
Blue Amazon
Brazil’s strategic interests on the continental shelf date back to 1950, when Act
no. 28.840 incorporated the continental shelf to the national “territory”. After that,
several constitutional and ordinary laws regulated the continental shelf, including the
notorious Decree no. 1.078/1970, which expanded Brazilian sovereignty seaward up
to 200 nm, including on the continental shelf. By then, it had become clear to
national strategists that the seabed is as relevant to economic prosperity as the
other dimensions of the ocean. The 1970 “Sovereignty” Act
had among other objectives to establish unequivocally that the country sovereignty over the
seabed and its subsoil extends until at least the distance of 200 nautical miles. This distance
goes far beyond where the depth 200 meters from the Brazilian shore. In other hand, the
adoption of the 200 miles did not implied the renunciation to the continental margin areas
(or the continental shelf, in the proper sense), which has proven to extend beyond this
limit.
82
The next legislative step was to adopt the 1988 Federal Constitution and to
promulgate UNCLOS domestically via Act no. 8.617/93, whose Art. 11 specifically
disciplines the continental shelf regime—provisions which will be examined further
below.
Such strategic interest attributed to the continental shelf is not unfounded. Its
riches lie not only on the economic potential of non-living resources, mainly
hydrocarbons and minerals—as confirmed by the REMPLAC Action, mentioned
supra, but also on the biodiversity universe to be unveiled thereon. It is no novelty
that massive hydrocarbon reserves exist in the so-called “pre-salt” area, which
extends beyond 200 nm. In 2005, the Brazilian oil state company, Petrobras,
published the first evidences of oil and gas in the pre-salt fields, namely in the
Santos Basin (Tupi Field). In 2008, production in situ kicked off and the first oil
barrel from the pre-salt was sucked up from the Campos Basin—off the coast of
Rio.
83
82 Castro (1989), p. 20.
83 See Section “Facts and Info” of the Petrobras website. From the first oil extracted in the pre-salt in
September 2008 to the volume of 2.07 million barrels-per-day achieved in April 2020, results have
been largely positive. There has been a surge since late 2018, when production reached 1.5 million
bpd. Available at: https://petrobras.com.br/fatos-e-dados/. Accessed 11 April 2020.
270
9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...