Sharing is Caring: Transboundary Hydracarbon Deposits on the Continental Shelf

The sovereign and exclusive rights of States to explore the continental shelf and exploit its resources implies an unferred right to exclude any exploitation by a third State of hydrocarbons that are located on its continental shelf. Yet, these rights do not allow impairment to the sovereign and exclusive rights of third States to exploit resources that extens onto their continental shelves. State practice demonstrates multiple definitions of hydrocarbon deposits implying that the decision of whether a hydrocarbon deposit is transboundary may vary depending on the relevant treaty provision. State practice also indicates heterogeneous prodedural and substantive approaches to the commencement of transboundary hydrocarbon deposits exploitation. These differences have substantive implications relecant to the determination of the constitutive elements of transboundary hydrocarbon deposits and for the circumstances under which a transboundary hydrocarbon deposit can operate under customary international law.