What’s the Falklands oil project at the heart of latest UK-Argentina spat?

Résumé détaillé

UK says it will defend its interests at Tribunal hearing, as Argentina seeks measures to block the offshore project.

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 before a tribunal over the offshore oil exploration, citing environmental concerns.

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.

The Hamburg-based tribunal is sitting for two days as Argentina seeks a provisional ruling to suspend oil drilling.

Reeves also said Argentina’s objection to the development was rooted in its territorial claims. “The hearing is not about the sovereignty of the Falklands,” the UK prime minister’s official spokesman said on Monday, echoing his country’s position that the island’s sovereignty is not up for negotiation.

The dispute is the latest in rising tensions between the UK and Argentina over the British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The Sea Lion development is a UK-Israeli venture to drill for oil in waters administered by the Falklands.

The UK’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s 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.

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.

However, Argentina’s 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’s legal teams to initiate arbitration proceedings against the UK.

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