Page 19: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Jan/Feb 2014)

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Analysis

Maps courtesy of Sebastián Machado.

This series of maps, provided by Sebastián Machado, illustrate the 150nm. The Venezuelan government protested, saying that the beginning in 1909, while José Santos Zelaya, of the Liberal various sides of the Colombia-Nicaragua maritime border dispute extension fell into the disputed zone, and referred to the 1966 Party, was president of the country. Following the execu- and were used for illustration purposes by the International Court of Justice.

treaty. tion of two Americans during an attempted overthrow by the

Meanwhile, TDI-Brooks International was contracted by Conservative Party, formal occupation by the US began in 1912.

Anadarko to perform the survey and had three employees relations in 1876, turning instead to the US. “This was when the US was throwing its weight around with onboard. Following the Teknik Perdana incident, TDI-Brooks In 1881, Venezuela suggested a new boundary, and appealed military intervention,” Jones said. “Many Nicaraguans, particu-

International Director of Operations Peter Tatro said that opera- to the US that the UK had violated the Monroe Doctrine. The larly on the left, believe the US pressured Nicaragua to sign the tions have not changed, but counted it as a lesson learned. offer of arbitration was the extent of the aid offered by the US. treaty.” “We certainly don’t want to do anything that puts our By 1895, the situation reached crisis level. Then-US Secretary Later on, Nicaragua’s Sandinistas fully renounced the treaty. people or assets at risk. We would be reticent, very cautious to of State Richard Olney insisted on creating an Arbitration Another factor set the stage for future complications, accord- approach anything unless we had some confdence that there tribunal to settle the matter. Although grateful, the Venezuelan ing to Sebastián Machado Ramírez, professor of public interna- wasn’t a dispute at play. We don’t want to borrow trouble,” government decried as unfairly biased towards the UK. The tional law at Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá.

Tatro said. “We are much more informed to the sensitivity of tribunal ruled in favor of the Schomburgk Line. “Colombia held it was a maritime delineation, and Nicaragua the nature of the dispute. We want to be cautious, out of respect An already-tense situation was made worse when the mining held that it was not. The court [agreed with Colombia],” he for the countries [as everything else].” and oil potential of the Essequibo River was made apparent. said. “Nicaragua denounced the treaty and … the treaty wasn’t

Others, however, see the incident as more far-reaching. Venezuela tried to resettle boundaries again in the 1960s, and valid because it was signed under coercion.” The Nicaraguan

Although the US Energy Information Administration lists this time the country was under a deadline: Independence government also claimed that Colombia and Nicaragua’ eco-

Venezuela as having the second-largest proven oil reserves from the UK was imminent for Guyana. On Feb. 17, 1966, the nomic zones overlapped. Nicaragua had no proof, but they fled in the world at 211 billion boe, operators might refuse to get Venezuelan, British and Guyanese governments signed the nonetheless. involved in the Guyana Esequiba. “Agreement to resolve the controversy over the frontier between In Ramirez’ paper on the subject entitled, “The Colombia “Operators cannot be sure the rights given by one country Venezuela and British Guiana,” which, rather than strictly – Nicaragua territorial and maritime dispute: sailing through will be respected by the other. Besides, defning boundaries, only established a regulatory framework murky waters,” he explains:

Venezuela’s record regarding respect for to resolve these territorial issues. The parties never agreed to a “The law governing the extension of the continental shelf business and property rights is not particu- solution. Guyana adhered to the 1895 arbitral award; Venezuela is found in customary international law as refected in Article larly good,” said José Molina, a professor at still did not agree. 76(1) of the CLCS…In other words, coastal states are entitled to the Universidad del Zulia, in Maracaibo, Article V of the 1966 treaty reads: “No new claim, or enlarge- claim a continental shelf the size of the natural prolongation of

Venezuela. “[Operations in the affected area] ment of an existing claim, to territorial sovereignty in these its land territory or 200nm, whichever is longer.” probably will be paralyzed unless there is an territories shall be asserted while this Agreement is in force, “It’s a ridiculous application,” To this day, I don’t understand

José Molina agreement between the two countries regard- nor shall any claim whatsoever be asserted otherwise than in how the Nicaraguans came to fle [with the United Nations ing oil exploration and production.” the Mixed Commission [a commission defned in the treaty to International Court of Justice (ICJ), Hague] with the coasts being

Coincidentally, the Teknik Perdana sails under the resolve this matter] while that Commission is in being.” 400mi. apart. It was quite

Panamanian fag, the country at the heart of the history between Several uprisings and periods of unrest followed. In 2011, embarrassing.” another maritime border dispute in the area: that between Guyana appealed to the UN Commission on the Limits of the The court ruled against

Colombia and Nicaragua. Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental shelf by Nicaragua in the delinea-

Although nothing as drastic as ships being detained has tion of the borders, and occurred in the countries’ disputed area, as exploration contin- Colombia won its sover- ues into new frontier areas, industry eyes are on the two Latin eignty claims.

American nations. As to the claims in the

On March 24, 1928, at the height of what Mark Jones, Chair economic zone, the ICJ of the Department of Political Science at Rice University, called ruled relative to the coast- “the era of gunboat diplomacy,” the two countries signed the line, which Ramirez said

Esguerra-Bárcenas Treaty, in which Nicaragua recognized was consistent in situations

Colombia’s sovereignty over the Archipelago of San Andrés, such as this. The archi- nd

Providencia and Santa Catalina. The 82 meridian west was set pelago and the coast were as the division between the two territorial waters. ruled Colombian territory,

It was not recognized as the deceptively simple resolu- but the court modifed the tion that it is, the primary reason being the US-occupation of north-south boundary fol-

Nicaragua at that time. The US held a presence in Nicaragua lowing the San Andres to oedigital.com January 2014 | OE 21 019_OE0114_Analysis.indd 21 12/19/13 6:12 PM