Argentina’s President Javier Milei threatened to impose sanctions on oil companies drilling near the Falkland Islands, after reiterating his claim that the territory under British control is Argentine.
The Falklands are “historically and legally” Argentine, Milei said in a televised address, apparently emboldened by the recent hints from U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.S. could review its neutrality on the issue and may not back the UK in the Falklands dispute because of the lack of UK support for the U.S. war in Iran.
The UK and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over the Falklands, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas, but the tension and the dispute never really faded away. Britain has controlled the islands since 1833, while Argentina has long claimed they are part of its territory.
Now Milei is reviving Argentina’s claim.
A UK-based company is operating the Sea Lion oil discovery some 220 kilometers (137 miles) to the north of the Falkland Islands, with plans for development already approved.
But Milei has just said that the Sea Lion oilfield is a “clear and present danger.”
He also said that “We will continue to bar from operating in Argentine territory companies involved, directly or indirectly, in projects in the (islands) without Argentine authorization.”
The Sea Lion oilfield is operated by Navitas Petroleum Development and Production Ltd (NPDP), a UK-based fully owned subsidiary of Navitas Petroleum, and Rockhopper Exploration plc.
The companies have reached a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Sea Lion Northern Development. This means that all the necessary approvals and funding for full-scale project execution have been secured. First oil is planned for March 2028, Navitas Petroleum says.
Oil production is expected to last for over 30 years, creating jobs across the Falkland Islands and the UK supply chain over that period.
Having secured the required regulatory approvals for Phases 1 and 2, Navitas Petroleum will begin Phase 1 with drilling 11 subsea wells, tied back to a redeployed floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Phase 2 is expected to begin three years after first oil, with 12 further subsea wells to be drilled and tied back.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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