| Who gets the oil? |
| Wednesday, 18 March 2009 14:46 |
| The Scottish sector of the present UK continental shelf has already been defined by the Continental Shelf Jurisdiction Order 1968 as being bounded on the south by the line of latitude 55 degrees 50' North, extending directly from the eastern end of the Scottish Border. Thus, the UK Government has, since 1968, recognised the jurisdiction of Scots law and the Scots courts over this sector, with this southern limit on the East Coast. A different dividing line relating to the jurisdiction over fisheries was imposed in 1999, under protest from the SNP and from Scottish fishermen. The Scottish sector of the Continental Shelf accounts for 90% of the UK’s present North Sea oil revenues. Even those who claim that territorial waters would need to be the subject of negotiation (on the basis, say, of the internationally recognised ‘equidistance principle’, which would require a median line equidistant from the Scottish and English coasts) still leave the Scottish oil fields substantially untouched. For instance, Professor Thomas Walde of Dundee University identified an “80—85%” Scottish share of North Sea oil revenues (Scotsman 20-4-97). |
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