{"id":831165,"date":"2026-11-11T12:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T12:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/831165\/"},"modified":"2026-11-11T12:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T12:34:16","slug":"whats-the-falklands-oil-project-at-the-heart-of-latest-uk-argentina-spat-oil-and-gas-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/831165\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Falklands oil project at the heart of latest UK-Argentina spat? | Oil and Gas News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United Kingdom has pledged to defend its interests in the Sea Lion project to develop an oilfield near the Falkland Islands, as Argentina has brought a legal challenge<\/a> before a tribunal over the offshore oil exploration, citing environmental concerns.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Ellie Reeves, representing the UK government at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), said billions of pounds crucial to the future of the Falkland Islands will be lost if Argentina is successful in getting the project blocked.<\/p>\n

The Hamburg-based tribunal is sitting for two days as Argentina seeks a provisional ruling to suspend oil drilling.<\/p>\n

Reeves also said Argentina\u2019s objection to the development was rooted in its territorial claims. \u201cThe hearing is not about the sovereignty of the Falklands,\u201d the UK prime minister\u2019s official spokesman said on Monday, echoing his country\u2019s position that the island\u2019s sovereignty is not up for negotiation.<\/p>\n

The dispute is the latest in rising tensions between the UK and Argentina over the British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n

What is it about?<\/p>\n

The Sea Lion development is a UK-Israeli venture to drill for oil in waters administered by the Falklands.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel\u2019s Navitas Petroleum, operator of the Sea Lion oilfield, located about 220km (137 miles) from the islands, are expected to start the project in March 2027, with oil production to begin in 2028.<\/p>\n

According to Rockhopper Exploration, the Sea Lion exploration field holds an estimated 1.7 billion barrels of oil in place, of which 500 million barrels are recoverable resources.<\/p>\n

However, Argentina\u2019s President Javier Milei announced measures to block the development in September and said in a post on X that he had instructed the Foreign Ministry and the country\u2019s legal teams to initiate arbitration proceedings against the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf in 2 weeks the United Kingdom does not halt the illegitimate exploitation, we will go to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. THE MALVINAS ARE ARGENTINA\u2019s, and they are defended with facts, not words,\u201d he wrote, using the Argentinian name for the Falkland Islands.<\/p>\n

Argentina formally filed a complaint at the Tribunal seeking provisional measures against the UK on October 13.<\/p>\n

The UK has administered the Falkland Islands since 1833. However, as the territory lies off Argentina\u2019s shores, Buenos Aires claims sovereignty over what it calls Las Malvinas.<\/p>\n

Milei has also threatened tougher sanctions on companies involved in the oil exploration project, preventing them from operating in Argentina\u2019s oil and mining sectors.<\/p>\n

Milei\u2019s government argues the project violates a United Nations<\/a> resolution calling on both sides to refrain from unilateral actions in the islands until their dispute over the territory\u2019s sovereignty is resolved.<\/p>\n

\"PORTA general view of a Falkland Island sign on November 10, 2026 in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands [Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images]What was said at the Tribunal?<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Reeves told the Law of the Sea Tribunal, which issues legally binding rulings on maritime disputes, that Argentina wanted to \u201ctake control of those resources for itself\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe provisional measures sought by Argentina would prevent the people of the Falkland Islands from developing their natural resources as they are entitled to do so, pursuant to their fundamental right to self-determination,\u201d she said, according to The Guardian.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe measures sought would have devastating consequences for the Falklands people. They risk losing billions of pounds in money, which is essential for the islands\u2019 economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Argentina\u2019s lawyer, Mario Oyarzabal, argued that action was needed to block the project.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Argentina] respects the interests of the inhabitants of the islands and their way of life as enshrined in the Argentine constitution\u2026What these British citizens do not have is a right to decide to which state the islands belong,\u201d he said during the hearing, The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese resources belong to the Argentine people. Some 46 million of them, including the 1,247 inhabitants born on the islands, whose interests will be duly taken into account,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Falkland islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain with the United Kingdom, despite Argentina\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n

What has the UK government said?<\/p>\n

On Monday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham\u2019s official spokesperson told the Independent news outlet that the UK was \u201cfully engaged in the UNCLOS [UN Convention on the Law of the Sea] process, and we\u2019ll clearly set out our position on Argentina\u2019s request for provisional measures before the Tribunal\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to robustly defend our interests and those of the Falkland Islanders,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n

Last month, Burnham also discussed the bid to block the oil project during a call with United States President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prime minister raised the economic consequences of Argentina\u2019s coercive measures for the UK and US and reiterated the importance of respecting the islanders\u2019 right to develop their natural resources,\u201d Burnham\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

What are the latest developments?<\/p>\n

The fraught relationship between the UK and Argentina remains tense and heavily focused on the Falkland Islands.<\/p>\n

Milei has capitalised on Trump\u2019s refusal to say whether Washington would support the UK in a future conflict over the Falklands after the US president criticised London for not doing more to support the US during its attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n

In September, Milei said the \u201cwinds of change\u201d were blowing in Argentina\u2019s favour when it comes to its claims of sovereignty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States is considering this change in position because it knows that Argentina has a reliable partner, aligned with Western values, in a strategically important position that can be a valuable ally in the decades to come,\u201d Milei said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Argentina is set for an election next year, where the Sea Lion project\u2019s halt could help Milei\u2019s polling position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United Kingdom has pledged to defend its interests in the Sea Lion project to develop an oilfield…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14632,5704,1343,1344,591,936,59,57,58,8911,50,20987,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-831165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-argentina","tag-conflict","tag-courts","tag-energy","tag-europe","tag-explainer","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-latin-america","tag-news","tag-oil-and-gas","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}