Seychelles, Mauritius plan joint Indian Ocean exploration

Aug. 20, 2013
Seychelles and Mauritius plan to explore jointly an area in the Indian Ocean that they hold in common.

Offshore staff

NAIROBI, Kenya –Seychelles and Mauritius plan to explore jointly an area in the Indian Ocean that they hold in common.

“An authority will be established to deal with the licensing and to oversee the activities in the Joint Management Area. All revenues will be split 50:50,” Eddy Belle, CEO of Seychelles upstream regulator PetroSeychelles said to Reuters.

No date will be set for opening the area until more of the legal framework for exploration and production in the Joint Management Area is complete.

The two nations received permission from the United Nations last year to extend continental shelf holdings off their respective coasts.

The area is about 396,000 sq km (152,896 sq mi) in size. Granting of the joint exploration rights is meant to deflect future maritime territorial disputes.

8/20/2013