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Exxon’s North Sea Licenses
The North Sea presents one of the harshest working
environments in the world. As of the mid-1960's, oil and gas
companies had not attempted production of oil and gas in
conditions as severe and difficult as those that existed in the
North Sea, and oil and gas companies generally lacked experience
and technology to explore for and to recover oil and gas from the
North Sea.
Under Article 2 of the Geneva Convention on the Continental
Shelf, Apr. 29, 1958, 15 U.S.T. 473 (ratified in U.S. Apr. 12,
1961), various countries were granted jurisdiction and control
over seabed areas adjacent to their coastlines. Individual
treaties were negotiated between countries bordering the North
Sea to fix boundaries between their respective offshore areas.
In the Continental Shelf Act, 1964, ch. 29, sec. 1 (Eng.),
the United Kingdom implemented provisions of the 1958 Geneva
Convention on the Continental Shelf with regard to the United
Kingdom portion or segment of the North Sea. Hereinafter, such
portion or segment will be referred to simply as the North Sea.1
1 The Petroleum (Production) Act, 1934, 24 & 25 Geo. 5, ch. 36
(Eng.), vested in the United Kingdom ownership of all oil and gas
resources within Great Britain and authorized the U.K. Secretary
of State for Trade and Industry to grant exploration and mining
licenses. The Continental Shelf Act, 1964, ch. 29, sec. 1
(Eng.), extended to the North Sea the United Kingdom’s license
powers under the Petroleum (Production) Act, 1934, supra.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011