Once the Court announces its decision on how the 12,000 square kilometer area, with valuable oil and gas deposits, is to be split up, companies that obtained licensing for Black Sea perimeters will be able to start up activities again, while unlicensed perimeters will be auctioned to Romanian and foreign companies.
The Deputy General Manager of the National Agency for Mineral Resources (ANRM), Mihai Silviu Gherman, declared for Business Standard that the organization of public auctions will be followed by an exploitation program. Gherman added that if the ICJ decision is favorable to Romania, and it will be clear which unlicensed area will belong to Romania, ANRM will begin the parceling of the respective area. Gherman also explained that it will not be possible for Romania and Ukraine to jointly exploit these areas, as was once considered possible.
The case has been at ICJ since 2004. The Romanian team at the Hague, led by Bogdan Aurescu, attempted throughout the trial to prove that the method proposed by Romania for the delimitation of the plateau is the equitable one, in concordance with international procedures, and argued that the Serpents’ Island should not have been a reference point, since it is nothing more than a rock. Armed with NASA satellite images, the team demonstrated that Serpents’ Island is not integrated into the Ukrainian coastline.
The Hague decision will be binding and cannot be appealed.
