The government maintains that part of the concession given to the Tunisian government in 1973, and in which the Lalla Saida oilwell was drilled, forms part of Malta’s continental shelf. The government lodged a number of protests to safeguard Malta’s legal rights.

Resources Minister George Pullicino said this in reply to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Joe Mizzi, who had said that the exploratory well was situated 120 km to the west of Malta’s Tama 1 oilwell and had been drilled as the result of a concession given to the Tunisian government, even though it was in a zone that Malta considered part of its continental shelf.

Answering another PQ, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg told Mr Mizzi that the Greek government had made no claims, written or verbal, with regard to the Medina Bank or the median line between the two countries.

He referred to the Prime Minister another question by Mr Mizzi on whether the Maltese government intended to declare an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles around Malta, and whether the government had advised the Libyan government of Malta’s rights in case Libya declared such an EEZ itself. Dr Borg said this was the Prime Minister’s prerogative.