Offshore Petroleum Operations and Other Sea Users--Legal and Policy Issues

Oil and gas activities on the continental shelf are, to a great extent, incompatible with other uses of the seas, such as fishing. International law attempted to strike a balance between competing uses of the offshore, but the development of the concept of the exclusive economic zone means that this balance must now be struck primarily by each coastal state. This paper reviews the experiences of a number of countries, and the legal and policy issues which have arisen in this context.