Morocco-Spain oil prospecting problem must be solved by comprehensive negotiations

"Only negotiations can bring a solution to the Moroccan-Spanish problem of the off-shore oil prospecting license given by the Spanish authorities to Repsol company," Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohammed Benaissa, said Wednesday.

Speaking at the House of Representatives (lower chamber), the foreign minister said Morocco had from the onset "categorically rejected" the license when the Spanish government approved it.

Under international customary law, Morocco has entire sovereignty over its continental shelf, which extends beyond the median line, erroneously taken into consideration in the prospecting license, he went on. There is a clear difference between the continental rights of the states, and those of islands controlled by other states, which is the case of the Canary Islands, the head of the Moroccan diplomacy further insisted.

Morocco had rejected the Spanish decision to grant an oil exploring license to Spanish company "Repsol" to prospect oil in a maritime zone located in front of the Moroccan southern city of Tarfaya, and reminded Spanish authorities of the need to respect international laws and customs, that ban unilateral maritime delimitation between countries having opposite or contiguous coasts. International laws and customs stipulate that such delimitation should be set in agreement between the two countries in order to reach a fair solution for all sides and taking into account specificities of each region.

Last December, Spain's government approved a decree authorizing Spanish company "Repsol" to conduct oil prospecting in a maritime zone located between the Canary Islands, precisely along the islands of Fuerte Ventura and Lanzarote, in front of the Moroccan city of Tarfaya.