Brazil extends sovereignty over undersea continental shelf

Tuesday, September 7th 2010 - 05:21 UTC

Full article 33 comments

The Brazilian Navy order was published in the official gazette

Brazil expanded the offshore area where drilling for crude or prospecting for minerals requires government authorization as it seeks to increase control over natural resources.

Prospecting anywhere on the undersea continental shelf that extends from the South American country’s coast will now require government approval, even in areas that are beyond current sea borders, according to a Brazilian Navy order published in the official gazette Sept. 3. The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of a continent between the coastline and the oceanic abyss.

President Lula da Silva has sought to increase control over offshore oil resources after state-run Petrobras made discoveries such as Tupi, the largest find in the Americas since Mexico’s Cantarell in 1976. Brazil is preparing a new sea-border expansion request to the United Nations after a 2004 proposal was rejected.

The UN generally recognizes a country’s maritime territory as the area within 200 nautical miles from the shore.

Categories: Politics, Brazil.

Top Comments

Disclaimer & comment rules

Fernando_A
Good for them, f--k the UN they're useless.
Sep 07th, 2010 - 07:07 am 0
Conqueror
Worth bearing in mind that it has NO effect in international law unless and until the UN approves it.
Sep 07th, 2010 - 11:45 am 0
Nicholas
I totally agree with Fernando. As the US ignores the UN, Brazil should do the same thing. Matter of fact, all nations should ignore the UN..they are indeed d useless. International law? LAUGH.....get real, it's freaking bogus.
Sep 07th, 2010 - 05:21 pm 0

Read all comments

Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!