The Powers of Coastal States over Offshore Oil Platforms

The question of the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas resources at sea has become a matter of much discussion both in national and in international circles. On one hand, in fact, this is a sector which offers a high level of expansion in economic terms, especially when we consider the progressive exhaustion of the oil and gas resources on land. On the other hand, however, the experience already gained from land activities in the field, and also the still limited knowledge of the possible negative effects and the great risks inherent in this economic sector at sea, render its development more problematic. Widespread opposition to development in this economic sector at sea is found both within individual States and internationally, as a result, in particular, of protests and awareness campaigns conducted by the principal environmental NGOs. In fact, fears about the environmental impact of this activity have led to closer questioning on the nature and the extent of the coastal states' powers than in the past, and also on the existence or otherwise of related obligations in the matter of the conservation of the marine environment, and the prevention of transboundary environmental damage. The aim of this article is to look at the international regulatory framework of the coastal states' powers and of their limits, with particular reference to marine areas situated beyond the Territorial Seas (TS). So, we will proceed first of all to an analysis of the powers of the coastal state as laid down in the UNCLOS, both as regards the question of the exploitation of the economic resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Continental Shelf (CS), and as regards that of the creation of artificial islands and platforms in those areas. After having considered some aspects which have emerged from recent practice in connection with the limits of the powers of the coastal states, we will look at the specific cases of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic seas.