Seychelles and Mauritius approve seismic survey for Mascarene Plateau

The Seychelles Cabinet has approved a joint agreement with Mauritius to conduct a Multi Client Seismic Survey within the Mascarene Plateau Region. This initiative involves signing a contract with Viridien to acquire, process, and interpret geological and geophysical data. The work will take place within the Joint Management Area of the Extended Continental Shelf.

Vice-President Sebastien Pillay announced the decision on Thursday during a press briefing at State House. The announcement followed a Cabinet meeting led by President Dr Patrick Herminie. The survey aims to provide a clearer understanding of the seabed to help both nations assess the potential of the shared maritime area.

The Joint Management Area covers roughly 396,000 square kilometres. It is currently the only jointly managed extended continental shelf globally, governed by a bilateral treaty between the two island states. This project follows a process that started over ten years ago after the two countries secured international recognition of their sovereign rights over the area.

Vice-President Pillay clarified that the agreement does not permit oil or gas drilling. Instead, the project focuses on collecting scientific data to ensure future decisions are supported by evidence. The survey will help determine if the seabed contains hydrocarbon resources or other features of economic interest.

Under the terms of the agreement, Viridien will fund the data acquisition. The company will recover its costs by licensing the resulting data to interested parties in the future. This model allows Seychelles and Mauritius to obtain geological information without paying the full cost of the survey.

This is not the first attempt to conduct such work in the region, as a previous procurement process failed to move forward. Pillay noted that all activities will follow international legal standards and environmental safeguards to protect the marine environment during the scientific data collection.