São Tomé Exclusive Economic Zone

The government of São Tomé & Principe has awarded ERHC rights to participate in exploration and production activities in São Tomé & Principe’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). ERHC’s rights include the following:

• The right to receive up to two blocks of ERHC’s choice; and
• The option to acquire up to a 15 percent paid working interest in another two blocks of ERHC’s choice.

ERHC would be responsible for its proportionate share of exploration and exploitation costs in the EEZ blocks.

The EEZ describes territorial waters of São Tomé that encompasses an area of approximately 160,000 square km. It is measured from claimed archipelagic baselines — territorial sea: 12 nautical miles, exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles. It is the largest in the Gulf of Guinea. 

Ocean water depths around the two islands exceed 5,000 feet, depths that have only become feasible for oil production over the past few years; however, oil and gas are produced in the neighboring countries of Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Congo. 

The African coast is less than 400 nautical miles offshore, which means the exclusive economic zones of the concerned countries overlap.