Accra, April 24, GNA - Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources on Friday announced that the ministry is to submit drafts for the extension of Ghana's continental shelf.

The drafts to be submitted to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) is in line with article 76 of the

1982 UN convention on the law of the Sea which enjoins member states to extend their maritime rights beyond the mandatory 200 nautical miles. Alhaji Dauda at a press conference to announce the submission to the UN noted that due to the complexity of the project, a management team and a Ministerial Oversight Committee drawn from six ministries were put in place.

Giving a brief on the economic worth of the continental shelf, Alhaji Dauda said Ghana had a potential of eight billion barrels of oil. "Additionally, the seabed abounds in mineral resources such as phosphate, gold, platinum, manganese and nodules among others," he said adding that the shelves were generally habitats for vegetables, sea plants and sea grasses that were raw materials for certain pharmaceutical products.

Alhaji Dauda noted that Ghana could increase its maritime territory by approximately 15,000 square kilometres if approved by the CLCS adding, "the right to explore and exploit the resources within this zone shall be exclusive to Ghana.

He said a team of geoscientists together with him would present the draft to the UN and expressed gratitude to the Federal Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resources of Germany for their contribution in terms of data collection and quality checks.

Mr Emmanuel Mohenu, Director of survey, Survey Department said the drafts covered about 183 coastal states worldwide. He noted that submission for the draft was on May 13, 2009 and urged countries who had not submitted their inputs to do so.