EXAMINATION OF THE LEGAL STATUS OF JOINT DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROCARBON DEPOSITS IN NIGERIA AND SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE

One of the most recent main trends in international practice in the law of the sea is the joint development of transboundary resources in maritime areas. This paper examines the legal status of the joint development of hydrocarbon deposits in Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe. Some pertinent gaps have been identified with regards to the United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1082) that promotes maritime disputes between the coastal states. The gaps and lacuna in UNCLOS 1982 are probably caused by the committee or the drafters. As a solution, the paper is making a case for an urgent international convention to be convened soon for all the wrongs of UNCLOS associated with the trans-boundary overlapping natural resources between two coastal states to be corrected and foreclosed.