ABSTRACT
The First Licensing Round was completed before the boundaries of the UKCS with neighbouring countries had been determined. The Government’s approach was to designate licensing areas which, consistent with the 1958 Convention, could not reasonably be claimed by other countries. Thus Statutory Instrument 1964, No. 697 designated a very large part of the North Sea for licensing, but carefully refrained from including acreage near the location of likely median lines with neighbouring countries.
