Cooperation on development of sea resources

Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe both stand to benefit from a Joint Development Zone they have agreed to set up across their sea border, Nigeria's presidential advisor on petroleum and energy, Rilwanu Lukman told journalists recently.

Lukman outlined the benefits of the establishment of the development zone and its oversight body, the Joint Development Authority, at a news conference on 19 April, in the capital, Abuja.

The search for and development of oil and gas resources, he said, required a very stable operating environment. "Cognisant of this, countries in the Gulf of Guinea have over the past few years pursued a deliberate policy of settling all outstanding maritime boundary issues," he added.

In line with this policy, he said, Nigeria has signed treaties with Equatorial Guinea and agreed to set up the joint development zone with Sao Tome e Principe.

The Joint Development Authority stems from a 1999 agreement on maritime boundary negotiations between Abuja and Sao Tome. The following year their presidents agreed to set aside the issue of maritime boundary resolution and concentrate on the joint development of resources. Under this agreement, maritime resources would be shared, with Nigeria getting 60 percent and Sao Tome and Principe 40 percent.

There is no such deal between Nigeria and Cameroon, which both claim an area called the Bakassi peninsula. Troops from the two countries have clashed in Bakassi and both countries have taken their dispute to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands.