The Territorial Oil Dispute

With territorial ownership being put forward in all four corners of the globe, including Great Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands and more recently Japan’s claim to the Kuril Islands, Great British and Argentinean armed forces are on standby for inevitable confrontation. Argentina dispute Great Britain’s claim to the Islands they call Islas Malvinas and Russia dispute Japan’s claim to the Kuril Islands.

In November of 2009 the Japanese government reiterated the accusation that "the Russian Federation is illegally occupying four northern islands."

The Russian Foreign Ministry responded by labeling a document issued by Tokyo as "unacceptable." The document identifying the alleged "illegal occupation by Russia" of the Kuril Islands, stating, "We consider it necessary to stress that the Southern Kuril Islands are an inseparable part of the Russian Federation territory on legal grounds based on the WW2 results in accordance with the legally binding agreements and treaties between the ally states, as well as the UN Charter that was ratified by Japan."

Last month then-Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada spoke of the Kurils being "illegally occupied by Russia."

In light of this instability major oil giants are sending their top decision makers, which includes, Eon’s John Roper, Head of Middle East, Jura Energy’s Abdul Ghafoor Anjum, Chief Geologist and Shells, Martjin Van Lieshout, Manager of Production to the Oil & Gas Summit in Dubai on the 12^th – 14^th April. Here topics from upstream solutions to downstream management will be discussed along with the current territorial issues facing many oil chasing countries.

Japan is concerned by the holding of Russia's Vostok-2010 military drills on Iturup Island, the largest of the disputed South Kuril Islands, Japan's Kyodo news agency said.

A British company has begun drilling for oil in the territorial waters of the Falkland Islands, despite strong opposition from Argentina. Argentina claims sovereignty and has imposed shipping restrictions.

UK Defence Minister Bill Rammell said the government had a "legitimate right" to build an oil industry in its waters.

Before the financial crisis gripped the globe in late 2007, countries that had disputed territorial claims to land off their regional borders tentatively agreed to disagree. It’s only now, in recent months, with fears of a double dip recession panicking nations into looking further afield, to find new ways to kick start their own flagging economies, have opposing governments made their territorial claims louder and more aggressive.

Author: Jake Mazan, NG Online News.

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