Australia Expands

Australia has expanded by 2.5 million hectares, giving it access to valuable oil and gas potential.

The extension to Australia's territorial jurisdiction stems from the findings of a United Nations commission on the limits of the continental shelf and the ratification of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The decision gives Australia the rights to whatever exists on the seabed in the area, including oil and gas, and biological resources such as micro-organisms that could potentially be used to develop medicines.

That is a lot of valuable oceanic real estate, especially if oil remains as high as it is at present.