Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Adaelizabeth Omaira Guerrero Rodriguez

Attorney at Law. U.S. Department of State Alumni. International Visitor Leadership (IVLP), Venezuela

Abstract

The Essequibo territory - situated in the extreme east of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela- its sovereignty is the reason for the dispute with the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Since the land border has not been established, the maritime projection corresponding to the Atlantic coast is under the shadow of the dispute. The inexistence of delimitation of the maritime spaces and the negotiations to reach agreements on such delimitation increase the conflict in regard to the unilateral authorizations of oil and gas concessions granted by the Cooperative Republic of Guyana in the disputed maritime areas. This paper analyzes the situation of the Atlantic Front in relation to the decisions of the International Tribunal of the Sea establishing precedents on maritime delimitations of States with adjacent coasts through arbitration processes that involve the interests of Venezuela, considering that Venezuela has not subscribed to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Keywords

• Essequibo
• Continental Shelf
• Offshore
• Oil
• Gas

Main Subjects

• Environmental Law