[Senate Treaty Document 106-39]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Treaty Doc.
SENATE
2d Session 106-39
_______________________________________________________________________
TREATY WITH MEXICO ON DELIMITATION OF CONTINENTAL SHELF
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
TRANSMITTING
TREATY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES ON THE DELIMITATION OF THE
CONTINENTAL SHELF IN THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO BEYOND 200 NAUTICAL
MILES, SIGNED AT WASHINGTON ON JUNE 9, 2000.
July 27, 2000.--Treaty was read the first time, and together with the
accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and
ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate.
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
79-118 WASHINGTON : 2000
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
The White House, July 27, 2000.
To the Senate of the United States:
With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the
Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty Between
the Government of the United States of America and the
Government of the United Mexican States on the Delimitation of
the Continental Shelf in the Western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200
nautical miles. The Treaty was signed at Washington on June 9,
2000. The report of the Department of State is also enclosed
for the information of the Senate.
The purpose of the Treaty is to establish a continental
shelf boundary in the western Gulf of Mexico beyond the outer
limits of the two countries' exclusive economic zones where
those limits do not overlap. The approximately 135-nautical-
mile continental shelf boundary defines the limit within which
the United States and Mexico may exercise continental shelf
jurisdiction, particularly oil and gas exploration and
exploitation.
The Treaty also establishes procedures for addressing the
possibility of oil and gas reservoirs that extend across the
continental shelf boundary.
I believe this Treaty to be fully in the interest of the
United States. Ratification of the Treaty will facilitate the
United States proceeding with leasing an area of continental
shelf with oil and gas potential that has interested the U.S.
oil and gas industry for several years.
The Treaty also reflects the tradition of cooperation and
close ties with Mexico. The location of the boundary has not
been in dispute.
I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable
consideration to this Treaty and give its advice and consent to
ratification.
William J. Clinton.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL
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Department of State,
Washington, July 5, 2000.
The President,
The White House.
The President: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty
between the Government of the United States of America and the
Government of the United Mexican States on the Delimitation of
the Continental Shelf in the Western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200
Nautical Miles (the ``Treaty''). The Treaty was signed in
Washington on June 9, 2000. I recommend that the Treaty be
transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to
ratification.
The Treaty defines the limits within which each Party may
exercise its sovereign rights over the seabed and subsoil of
the continental shelf, in the area in the western Gulf of
Mexico beyond the limits of their respective exclusive economic
zones (EEZs), in the area known as the ``Western Gap,'' for the
purpose of exploring the shelf and exploiting its natural
resources, particularly oil and gas.
The boundaries separating the exclusive economic zones of
the Parties were established in the Treaty on Maritime
Boundaries between the United States of America and the United
Mexican States, signed at Mexico City May 4, 1978, which
entered into force November 13, 1997 (``1978 Treaty'').
The Treaty is the culmination of negotiations that followed
the 1978 Treaty's entry into force. It achieves the U.S.
objectives of delimiting a boundary consistent with the
approach taken in previous U.S.-Mexico boundary treaties, while
at the same time adequately addressing issues of oil and
natural gas reservoirs in the area covered under the Treaty. In
recommending Senate advice and consent to the ratification of
the 1978 Treaty establishing the EEZ maritime boundary, the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee noted:
the untapped reserves of crude oil and natural gas in
the Gulf of Mexico along the 200 nautical mile boundary
and the technological advances that have made it more
likely that U.S. companies will recover these oil and
gas deposits. * * * Delimitation of the western gap has
become increasingly important to U.S. interests as
petroleum exploration has moved into deeper waters.
The Committee urged the Administration ``to commence
negotiations on the western gap without delay, once this treaty
enters into force.'' (Sen. Exec. Rpt. No. 105-4, pages 5-6,
Oct. 22, 1997.)
Breadth of the continental shelf
Mexico and the United States are parties to the 1958 Geneva
Convention on the Continental Shelf (the ``1958 Convention'').
Article 1 of the 1958 Convention provides that the continental
shelf of a coastal State extends beyond a depth of 200 meters
to ``where the depth of superjacent waters admits of the
exploitation of the natural resources'' of the shelf. The 1982
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which
Mexico is a party and which the United States considers
reflects customary international law in this respect, provides
a more scientifically-based definition of the continental
shelf. Article 76 provides that the continental shelf of a
coastal State comprises the greater of either the area in which
the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas extend beyond a
country's territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation
of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental
margin, or the area to a distance of 200 nautical miles from
the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is
measured. Under both definitions, the coastal State has
exclusive control over the exploration and exploitation of the
natural resources, including oil and gas, of the continental
shelf.
With respect to areas beyond 200 nautical miles from
coastal baselines, the 1958 Convention and the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provide that certain
criteria must be met to qualify as continental shelf. During
the negotiations, both sides agreed that all of the seabed and
subsoil of the submarine areas beyond the 200-mile EEZ limit in
the Western Gulf of Mexico meet the legal requirements
described in both Conventions.
The treaty consists of nine articles and two annexes.
Continental shelf boundary
Article I describes the continental shelf boundary between
the United States and Mexico in the Western Gulf of Mexico
beyond 200 nautical miles as geodetic lines connecting the
listed 16 turning and terminal points. In keeping with the
methodology used in previous U.S.-Mexico maritime boundary
treaties, this line represents an equidistant line drawn from
the respective U.S. and Mexican coastal baseline, including the
baselines of islands.
Article II sets out the technical parameters of the
boundary. It states that, for the purposes of the boundary, the
1983 North American Datum (``NAD 83'') and the International
Earth Rotation Service's Terrestrial Reference Frame (``ITRF
92'') are considered identical, and that the terminal points
are the terminal points of the 1978 Treaty. This article is
needed to ensure that the Treaty may be applied uniformly and
accurately by the United States, Mexico and all other users.
Further, the article states that, for the purpose of
illustration only, a map depicting the boundary is attached to
the treaty as Annex 1.
Article III sets forth the agreement of the Parties that,
north of the boundary, Mexico will not, and south of the
boundary, the United States will not, claim or exercise for any
purpose sovereign rights or jurisdiction over the seabed and
subsoil. This provision is contained in all modern maritime
boundary treaties to which the United States is a party.
Transboundary reservoirs
In addition to the provisions typically found in maritime
boundary delimitation agreements, the Treaty contains a new set
of provisions contained in Articles IV and V dealing with the
subject of possible oil or natural gas (hereinafter,
``petroleum'') reservoirs that may extend across the
continental shelf boundary (hereinafter, ``transboundary
reservoirs''). These provisions, among other things, create a
framework by which the Parties can exchange information to help
determine the possible existence of transboundary reservoirs.
Should any transboundary reservoir be identified, the Parties
commit to address the equitable and efficient development of
any such reservoirs. Those procedures are described in more
detail below.
Article IV(1) creates a buffer zone, called ``the Area,''
which comprises a continental shelf area of 1.4 nautical miles
on each side of the boundary. (For the United States, the Area
comprises 9.77 percent of its portion of the Western Gap.)
Within the Area, the Parties agree to a ten-year moratorium on
petroleum drilling or exploitation. By its terms, the
moratorium does not apply to other continental shelf
activities. Each Party's right to authorize or permit petroleum
drilling or exploitation outside the Area within the Western
Gap on its side of the boundary is unaffected by this
moratorium.
Article IV(2) provides that the Area is shown on an
illustrative map at Annex 2 of the Treaty.
Article IV(3) establishes that the Parties may modify the
10-year moratorium applicable in the Area by mutual agreement
through an exchange of diplomatic notes. This provision will
enable the Parties to shorten or to extend the duration of the
moratorium should they both agree.
Article IV(4) requires each Party, on its side of the
boundary within the Area and in accordance with its national
laws and regulations, to facilitate requests from the other
Party to authorize geological and geophysical studies for
determining the possible presence and distribution of
transboundary reservoirs.
Article IV(5) requires that each Party, with respect to the
Area in its entirety and in accordance with its national laws
and regulations, share geological and geophysical information
in its possession in order to determine the possible existence
and location of transboundary reservoirs.
Article IV(6) obliges each Party, if it has knowledge of
the existence or possible existence of any transboundary
reservoir to notify the other Party.
During the course of the negotiations each Party supplied
the other a written summary of their respective national laws
and regulations pertaining tooffshore oil and gas development
that would currently be applicable pursuant to the terms of Article IV.
Article V of the Treaty details a mechanism for
communication and cooperation between the Parties with respect
to the Area and the possible existence and location of
transboundary reservoirs.
Article V(1) provides that that the Parties, with respect
to the Area during the ten year moratorium, shall:
--meet periodically for the purpose of identifying, locating,
and determining the geological and geophysical
characteristics of transboundary reservoirs as
geological and geophysical information is generated
that facilitates the Parties' knowledge about the
possible existence of such reservoirs (including
information provided under Article IV(5);
--seek to reach agreement for the efficient and equitable
exploitation of such transboundary reservoirs; and
--consult within sixty days of receipt of a written request
by a Party through diplomatic channels, to discuss
matters related to possible transboundary reservoirs.
Article V(2) further requires, with respect to the Area,
that following the ten-year moratorium, the Parties shall:
--inform the other Party both of its decisions to lease,
license, grant concessions, or otherwise make
available, portions of the Area for petroleum or
natural gas exploration or development and when
petroleum or natural gas resources are to commence
production; and
--ensure that entities it authorizes to undertake activities
in the Area observe the terms of the Treaty.
Dispute resolution and consultations
Article VI requires the Parties to consult to discuss any
issue regarding the interpretation or implementation of the
Treaty upon the written request by a Party through diplomatic
channels.
Article VIII provides that any dispute concerning the
interpretation or application of the Treaty must be resolved by
negotiation or other peaceful means as may be agreed upon by
the Parties.
Final clauses
Article VII provides that the boundary established in the
Treaty does not affect or prejudice in any manner the positions
of either Party with respect to the extent of internal waters,
of the territorial sea, of the high seas, or of sovereign
rights or jurisdiction for any other purpose. This is a
standard provision in modern U.S. maritime boundary treaties.
Article IX provides that the Treaty is subject to
ratification and that it will enter into force on the date the
Parties exchange instruments of ratification.
No new legislation is needed for the United States to meet
its obligations under the treaty.
All interested agencies and departments join the Department
of State in recommending that the Treaty delimiting the
continental shelf boundary beyond 200 nautical miles between
Mexico and the United States be transmitted to the Senate as
soon as possible for its advice and consent to ratification.
Respectfully submitted,
Madeleine Albright.