Chapter 3
The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 nm:
Innovations in Art. 76 UNCLOS
Prior to the adoption of UNCLOS, several circumstances leveled the ground for the
emergence of the continental shelf beyond 200 nm and the adoption of scientific
formulae disciplining the exact extension of the outer continental shelf. The goal
formally announced by the international community was to limit the expansion of
coastal state jurisdiction seawards.
3.1 Enlarged Coastal State Jurisdiction Over
the Continental Margin
To begin with, there was widespread dissatisfaction with the 1958 dual criteria of
water depth and exploitability to determine the limits of the continental shelf. Both
criteria were imprecise and inadequate in many cases,
1 namely because technical
innovation allowed exploitation in increasing depths, continuously widening the
regions that were considered exploitable. It is the case with the petroleum and gas
offshore industry, which swiftly developed techniques to extract oil from increasing
depths, such as the semi-submersible oil rigs.
2
1 A review of the criticisms to the exploitability and water depth criteria adopted in the 1958 CSC is
made later in this chapter.
2 The “Ocean Driller”, built in 1963, designed and owned by ODECO, but operated by Texaco. The
history of impressive advancement goes all the way to the current days. In October 2014, Petrobras
began exploring a well (Iracema Sul) 2300 m below the surface. Available at: https://www.offshoretechnology.com/projects/iracema-sul-field-santos-basin/. Accessed 06 April 2020.
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
V. Alencar Mayer Feitosa Ventura, Environmental Jurisdiction in the Law of the Sea,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50543-1_3
47
The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 nm:
Innovations in Art. 76 UNCLOS
Prior to the adoption of UNCLOS, several circumstances leveled the ground for the
emergence of the continental shelf beyond 200 nm and the adoption of scientific
formulae disciplining the exact extension of the outer continental shelf. The goal
formally announced by the international community was to limit the expansion of
coastal state jurisdiction seawards.
3.1 Enlarged Coastal State Jurisdiction Over
the Continental Margin
To begin with, there was widespread dissatisfaction with the 1958 dual criteria of
water depth and exploitability to determine the limits of the continental shelf. Both
criteria were imprecise and inadequate in many cases,
1 namely because technical
innovation allowed exploitation in increasing depths, continuously widening the
regions that were considered exploitable. It is the case with the petroleum and gas
offshore industry, which swiftly developed techniques to extract oil from increasing
depths, such as the semi-submersible oil rigs.
2
1 A review of the criticisms to the exploitability and water depth criteria adopted in the 1958 CSC is
made later in this chapter.
2 The “Ocean Driller”, built in 1963, designed and owned by ODECO, but operated by Texaco. The
history of impressive advancement goes all the way to the current days. In October 2014, Petrobras
began exploring a well (Iracema Sul) 2300 m below the surface. Available at: https://www.offshoretechnology.com/projects/iracema-sul-field-santos-basin/. Accessed 06 April 2020.
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
V. Alencar Mayer Feitosa Ventura, Environmental Jurisdiction in the Law of the Sea,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50543-1_3
47