And without invading any other countries! Thanks to a 20-year effort to map the continental shelf surrounding the U.S., we can now claim a million more square kilometers (about two Californias) in additional continental shelf that we can mine or fish and other countries cannot. This work concluded under Biden, and we know by republican rules that this means that Biden gets credit for the accomplishment. Well, done, Mr. Biden! Interesting how the definition came about. Under the old definition, if the ocean was not so deep that you couldn't drill for oil, you could claim it as part of your continental shelf. Eventually, drilling technology improved enough that the U.S. could have claimed two thirds of the Atlantic, which was obviously not the original intention. How the U.S. Gamed the Law of the Sea
it would soon be renamed the shelf of trump and will be the biggest land edition ever to the USA. EO incoming
Interesting, just wondering how that would work with other countries, Great Britain for example with their North Sea oil wells?
want to know where the real british future money is. this one has been kept quiet. makes the north sea look like a minor discovery Russia reportedly finds vast oil and gas reserves in British Antarctic territory | Offshore LONDON – Russia has reportedly found huge oil and gas reserves in British Antarctic territory, potentially leading to drilling in the protected region, according to the British publication The Telegraph and several online reports. The reserves uncovered are said to contain around 511 billion barrels worth of oil, equating to around 10 times the North Sea’s output over the last 50 years. The discovery, per Russian research ships, was revealed in evidence submitted to the British Commons Environment Audit Committee last week. The committee was assessing questions regarding oil and gas research on ships owned by the Kremlin’s Rosgeo, the largest geological exploration company in Russia. In particular, Rosgeo’s Alexander Karpinsky vessel is said to have conducted a number of surveys in the region. Antarctica is currently under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which prohibits all oil developments in the area. The treaty was enacted to ensure that the region was used “exclusively for peaceful purposes” and would “not become the scene or object of international discord.”
Thanks Ronald Reagan "In 1982, the U.S. voted against adopting the Law of the Sea—one of only four countries to do so—and said it would refuse to ratify the finalized treaty. Reagan’s reason: the regulations on mining, which he thought would hamper America’s ability to exploit undersea mineral resources. He seemed particularly worried about the royalty scheme that would govern the international seafloor, a vast virgin deep that lies beyond the jurisdiction of any one state and makes up about half of the world’s ocean floor."
