Why a barren rock in the Atlantic is the focus of an international battle of wills

AN ISOLATED pinnacle of granite, lashed by North Atlantic waves and gales off the British coast, Rockall has long been the focus of passionate territorial disputes. But talks this week between four nations are focusing on the sea or, more specifically, the oil and gas reserves that lie on the seabed around it.

The negotiations in Reykjavik involve the UK, Ireland, Iceland and Denmark (on behalf of the Faroes), which are seeking to forge an agreement to exploit the resources around the famous outcrop about 300 miles from their shores.

They hope eventually to divide up territorial rights to the vast area - some 422,000sq km, or about five times the land area of Ireland - and exploit its rich reserves. This will be determined by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The countries have until May 2009 to reach agreement.

It is part of a wider below-the-waves "land grab", which allows countries to qualify for "extended underwater territory" under a UN Law of the Sea Convention.