The status of Israel's marine rights in the Mediterranean suffer from ambiguity and uncertainty, says Lipa Meir & Co. partner Adv. Dan Tzafrir, an expert in marine and environmental law. In an interview with "Globes", he warns that if Israel is negligent in taking the measures necessary to increase environmental supervision of oil and gas rigs in its waters, it could expose the state to claims for damages by countries, companies, and individuals in case of a major spill.
Israel's rights in the Mediterranean have been become a source of contention between Israel and Turkey. Earlier this week, Turkey warned Israel against trying to stop its ships moving towards Israel's 12 nautical mile maritime border. The Tamar and Leviathan gas fields, where production and exploration wells are underway, respectively, are located over 100 kilometers offshore in Israel's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which extends up to 200 nautical miles (360 kilometers) from the coastline.
Countries have exclusive rights to natural resources in their marine EEZ and the right to protect rigs and other facilities operating in the EEZ. To declare an EEZ, Israel has to reach agreements to demarcate the border with the EEZ's of its maritime neighbors Cyprus, Egypt, and Lebanon, as well as the Palestinian Authority over the EEZ of the Gaza Strip. To date, Israel has only concluded an agreement with Cyprus, in December 2010. Israel and Lebanon dispute an 864-square kilometer section in their EEZ claims. On July 10, the Israeli government declared the EEZ border with Lebanon ahead of submitting the EEZ map to the UN, after Lebanon took similar action.
"Israel's ambiguity in declaring its EEZ is worrisome," says Tzafrir, a former legal counsel to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. "Israel has not declared its intentions, and it must understand that such a declaration has far-reaching significance."
"Globes": Do you see a connection between the EEZ and claims and threats by parties such as Lebanon and Turkey?
Tzafrir: "Yes. For example, if the intent is the right to protect a rig, the Law of the Sea stipulates that in an EEZ a country has the authority to take protective measures of a rig and its environs up to a radius of 500 meters from the facilities."
Israeli legal experts say marine rights are not contingent on a declaration, and that other Mediterranean countries, including Turkey, have not declared an EEZ. While this approach is legitimate, it also increases ambiguity and uncertainty.
The root of the problem is that Israel is not a signatory to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which established the concept of the EEZ. It is therefore unclear whether Israel has the right to declare an EEZ at all. Turkey is also not a signatory to UNCLOS and refuses to recognize the EEZ of Cyprus, which declared its EEZ in 2004.
"The problem in the Mediterranean is that it is a small and closed sea, with 21 littoral countries. Obviously compromise is necessary by all the countries that want to create an EEZ," says Tzafrir.
An ecological catastrophe is only a matter of time
Because this Mediterranean is a small and closed sea, this creates an acute ecological problem: any severe marine contamination will hurt neighboring countries, and Israel would be exposed to claims for damages in international court. Tzafir says that Israel's negligence in taking measures to prevent an ecological catastrophe from the rigs exposes the country to claims.
"The Oil Law of 1952 covers drilling and production operations, but it does not mention environmental protection at all, let alone subsequent conventions, such as the Barcelona Convention, which Israel has ratified. The licensing and holding certificates that Israel awards developers have not requirements, criteria, or guidelines on environmental issues, and the staff at the Ministry of Environmental Protection's Marine and Coastline Division have no influence on the issue, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of National Infrastructures. Without appropriate supervision of the rigs and pipelines, an environmental disaster is only a matter of time," warns Tzafrir.
This issue is already worrying Israel's neighbors. Cypriot Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides has expressed concern about leaks from the proposed undersea natural gas pipeline from the Leviathan field to Europe, because of Israel's lack of experience in the industry.
Tzafrir says, "The protocol for offshore drilling came into effect this year, establishing very clear standards for protecting the environment during offshore drilling and production operations, but Israel has never implemented the protocol. Under these circumstances, the state is exposed to claims for damages." He is referring to the Protocol for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution resulting from exploration and exploitation of the continental shelf and the seabed and its subsoil, which are derived from the Barcelona Convention, and came into effect in March. The Protocol sets out procedures for approving wells, safety and anti-pollution measures, contingency plans, monitoring and supervision mechanisms, cooperation for dealing with a pollution event, restrictions on drilling in specially protected areas, and guidelines for approving drilling licenses pursuant to international standards.
What are the implication of implementing the protocol?
"For example, the Protocol requires conducting very extensive environmental surveys to verify that the location of a rig, its related facilities, and pipeline do not harm the environment. This could delay drilling timetables, and incur additional costs to developers. But, the bottom line is, in my opinion, the state and the developers have the same interest in implementing the Protocol as soon as possible, for the simple reason that damage from a spill and consequent ecological catastrophe would be many times worse."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 13, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011