Spanish:
 
|
International tribunal rules on T&T-Barbados boundary row:report
PLATTS
SAN ANTONIO, Texas
Petroleumworld.com 04 14 06
In a decision which impacts oil and gas resources, an international
tribunal has ruled in favor of Trinidad and Tobago in a dispute with Barbados
over the maritime boundary, according to reports in Trinidadian newspapers
Wednesday.The decision, announced yesterday to T&T's Senate by Attorney General John
Jeremie, was made by the Arbitration Tribunal at the International Dispute
Resolution Centre in the Hague, Netherlands."While we were always confident of the outcome of these deliberations,"
Jeremie told the Senate. "The mere referral of this dispute was a significant
threat not just to the exploitation of our oil and gas resources, but to the
livelihood of our fisherfolk...and threatened to compromise the very integrity
of our treasured unitary state."He noted that letters had been written by the Barbados' government to
international energy companies interested in exploring the disputed area.
Barbados initiated the proceedings in February 2004, after two of its
fishermen were arrested by T&T's coast guard and charged with fishing
illegally in T&T waters.Jeremie said the tribunal rejected each claim made by Barbados, including
its effort to secure all of the area south of the median line, or just off the
coast of Tobago, which Barbados regarded as its traditional fishing ground.
The tribunal agreed to T&Ts request to extend its boundary to the continental
shelf beyond the 200-mile exclusive economic zone, he said."[The] ruling not only confirms the legitimacy of our original position
but has also extended our maritime boundary by shifting the median line
demarcating the exclusive economic zones of Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados,"
he said. He said the ruling sets a single maritime boundary toward the middle
of the waters separating both countries and grants T&T an access gateway to
the Atlantic Ocean.Jeremie said the dispute had implications for T&T's boundaries,
especially off Tobago's waters, as well as its boundaries with Grenada,
Guyana, St Vincent and Venezuela.For more information, take a trial to Platts Oilgram News at
http://oilgramnews.platts.com.
PLATTS 04 12 06Copyright ©2006 Platts. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels