The British local authorities in the Falkland Islands have called a public consultation to extract 500 million barrels of oil. This would transform the economy of the archipelago, which currently relies on sheep farming and fishing.
Drilling and exploitation will be carried out by the Israeli company Navitas Petroleum, about 240 kilometers north of Puerto Argentino, in the Sea Lion area. The company plans to extract 300 million barrels over the next 30 years, although the reserves exceed 500 million. In the first stages, 23 wells will be drilled initially.
Navitas plans to extract 300 million barrels over the next 30 years.
According to what was published by the English newspaper Telegraph “The field is believed to hold 1.7 billion barrels of oil, making it several times larger than the Rosebank field, the UK’s largest planned development in the North Sea, which is estimated to hold 300 million barrels.”
The paper also highlighted the environmental impact of the project: “The amount of oil produced will put a big hole in the UK’s promises to cut emissions,” the paper notes. “Labour, which is set to win the UK election on July 4, has highlighted its goal of accelerating the energy transition and has promised to ban all new oil and gas exploration in UK waters,” it adds. In any case, the ban would not affect the Falkland Islands, since the local government has the final say on exploration rights in the waters around them.
A popular consultation for the island’s residents to enable or disable the extraction opened on July 2 and runs until August 13.
“In accordance with the Marine Minerals Act 1994 (as amended), an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been submitted to the Falkland Islands Government by Navitas Petroleum Development and Production Limited in relation to the proposed offshore drilling and production of oil wells in the North Sea Lion Field Development Area, Phases 1 and 2, and associated activities. Accordingly, a mandatory consultation period will now open from 2 July 2024 to 13 August 2024,” the islands’ official government website states.
Navitas’ exploration activities in the Malvinas Islands date back a long time and have already been questioned by the administration. Alberto Fernandez In September 2023. In addition, the company received a 20-year penalty in 2022 for operating within the Argentine continental shelf without a license. This allegation was directed not only at the United Kingdom, but also at Israel.
Navitas was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for operating within the Argentine continental shelf without the proper license.
Thus, there are already 10 companies subject to sanctions for illegal activities linked to the hydrocarbon sector in the archipelago. The list of prohibitions on exploration in the Argentine maritime or continental areas has been adding followers since 2013. In addition to Navitas, Rockhopper, which discovered the deposit in 2010 and which holds 35% of the Sea Lion operations, Falkland, oil and gas companies Borders and Southern Petroleum, Argus Resources, Desire Petroleum, Premier Oil, Noble Energy Falklands Ltd, Noble Energy Inc and Edison International have been sanctioned.
Foreign Ministry sources said now information It is “the subject of analysis to determine possible counter-diplomatic measures.”