Article 82 of the LOS Convention—Revenue Sharing—The Mining Industry's Perspective

The paper will provide an overview of Article 82 LOSC and look at the philosophy and intention behind Article 82's revenue sharing provisions in relation to resources exploited on the outer continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. A brief examination will follow of whether the realities faced at the time of drafting are the same as those faced today. The provisions of Article 82 have yet to be successfully implemented and it seems likely that more work will be required in refining certain aspects of the Article before they can be. Any such refinements are likely to be of significant interest to the mining industry as the theory behind the Article gives way to its practical implementation. The term mining industry covers a range of interests from oil and gas to mineral and metal deposits. Clearly, the economies of scale will be different for each of these interests as will the margins within which they operate. This is likely to have quite an individual effect on the desirability of Article 82 revenue sharing within the industry. Most likely as a consequence of Article 82 not yet having an effect, in addition to the relative costliness of deep water exploration, the mining industry has not widely publicised its view on the implications for the industry of Article 82. Notwithstanding this, there are concerns and factors that will be relevant to the industry as a whole. A look at some of the specific incentives and disincentives that Article 82 brings for the mining industry, in addition to the role of technology in the revenue sharing equation are some of the further issues which will be addressed.