Governance of Continental Shelf Spaces in the Energy Transition : Offshore Carbon Storage in Transboundary Geological Formations

Governments around the world are looking to ensure their transition to full low- carbon economies whilst tackling climate change by implementing offshore carbon capture & storage; a method of permanently removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of fossil fuels and burying it deep below the seabed into suitable subsea geological formations. The main targets of such geological formations are depleted, or nearly depleted, offshore oil and gas reservoirs within existing oil-producing fields. However, such reservoirs will frequently transcend maritime boundaries and jurisdictions, i.e., a shared geological formation could be used on both sides of the maritime boundary for CO2 sequestration and storage. This raises the potential for disputes among nations, transboundary environmental degradation, and business disruption.The paper examines the governance of offshore carbon dioxide storage operations in the transboundary context under the light of applicable international rules and regulations and state practice. It highlights the underlying legal issues and explains how maritime boundary agreements and associated transboundary resource management arrangements over continental shelf spaces can help to promote the good governance of offshore carbon storage operations while supporting nations and their industries to decarbonise