A London-based Falkland Islands energy explorer has recruited an anonymous super-rich Middle Eastern investor to bankroll its oil drilling amid mounting Argentine opposition.
Borders & Southern Petroleum said the new “ultra-high-net-worth” shareholder would pump £2m into the group, at a 42pc premium to its share price.
Harry Baker, the group’s chief executive, described the mystery white knight as “an exceptionally well-connected and experienced investor, with a long history of deploying strategic capital across a range of industries, including in this sector”.
The funds will allow Borders & Southern to push on with more drilling in the Darwin East field south-east of the Falklands, which may contain 170 million barrels oil and gas.
Borders & Southern’s announcement follows similar progress in the Sea Lion field to the north of the archipelago. Rockhopper Exploration and Israeli firm Navitas Petroleum plan to start pumping oil from there in early 2028.
The recent drilling push has triggered a fresh round of tension between Britain and Argentina, which still lays claim to the islands it calls Las Malvinas.
Javier Milei, the Argentine president, gave the UK a two-week ultimatum on Sept 29 to shut down the Sea Lion project or face a lawsuit at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. That deadline expires on Tuesday.
Mr Milei claimed that Rockhopper’s project was an “illegal plundering of our resources” that would cause “irreversible and irreparable damage”.
Mr Baker said the Middle Eastern investor’s purchase of almost 17.4 million shares at 11.5p apiece came “in spite of the geopolitical backdrop”.
Mr Milei may have been emboldened by Donald Trump, who said on Aug 31 that he had put Washington’s position on the Falklands “under review”.
The US has largely avoided becoming embroiled in the long-running stand-off. President Ronald Reagan supported Britain during the 1982 Falklands War, but Mr Trump sees Mr Milei as a political bedfellow.
In its half-yearly report in September, Borders & Southern said its Darwin East exploration licences were “lawfully granted by the Falkland Islands Government, with full and ongoing support from the UK Government”.
Mr Baker quoted a letter of support from the British Government, which said the UK “fully supports the right of the Falkland Islanders to exploit their natural resources, including hydrocarbons, for their own economic benefit”.
The company needs to renew its licences at the end of this year, and has been looking to raise cash to pay its licensing fees and fund technical and commercial studies.
Mr Baker said the company was now fully funded until mid-2028. Its shares, listed on the junior Aim market, closed at 9.68p on Monday, up from 7.94p before the announcement.