Greece and Albania concluded in Tirana last week (March 19) negotiations on the delimitation of the continental shelf and other maritime zones in the Ionian Sea. The agreement is based on the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (of 10.12.1982), but its contents have not been revealed. The Greek Prime Minister hailed the conclusion of the negotiations. The text was initialed in Tirana, but will be signed by the foreign ministers of both countries at a later date. The agreement will determine the extent each country will have to the rights of exploiting the continental shelf that lies below the Ionian Sea, it is this area that both Albania and Greece could have pretentions.
The prime benefit of the exploitation rights of the continental shelf is expected to be the exploration for and extraction of petrol and gas. Exploration of maritime soil, tunneling, installation of structures, creation of artificial islands and the laying of submarine cables and pipelines are among the other potential benefits from the exploitation rights of the continental shelf as expressed in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The Albanian press reports that the delimitation problem of the continental shelf between Albania and Greece became pungent in 2004 when a small British company obtained a concession to explore for petrol and gas in the Ionian Sea, near the southern Albanian city of Saranda. It was then made evident that the exploitation rights of the subsoil in the Corfu Strait had not been regulated by any agreement between Greece and Albania. The northernmost Greek Diapodia Islands as well as the upper part of the island of Corfu, are situated further north than the coastline of Greece and face the southern Albanian coast.
According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, “The continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to
the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines.” But the close distance of the Greek islands to the Albanian coast makes an agreement between the two states necessary.
