Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a republican decree demarcating the Mediterranean’s western maritime borders.
The first article of the decision states that Egypt’s territorial sea borders begin at the Egyptian-Libyan land border, and extend for a distance of (12) nautical miles. And then the line of Egypt’s western maritime borders goes in a northerly direction, parallel to the meridian (25) east.
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Article 2 stipulates that coordinate lists must be announced in accordance with the rules in effect, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations must be notified of them.
The decision means that Egypt will settle its maritime borders so that these zones can be presented to international oil companies to explore for oil and gas, and it will also preserve the gas wealth in its Mediterranean region. It also implies that areas within these borders will be prepared and equipped to search for oil and gas and put an end to any ambitions in it.
Demarcation map (Photo credit: Keep Talking Greece)
Osama Kamal, Egypt’s former Minister of Petroleum, confirmed that the recent decision will allow Egypt to offer these zones to international companies, especially since some of these firms were afraid and refused exploration, claiming that the borders are unknown or unclear, or that they are witnessing conflicts
According to the former Egyptian minister, one of the advantages of this decision is that it will encourage international companies to increase their investments in the Mediterranean, improve investments and business with existing partners, and put new areas on the map of research and exploration.
