Argentine judge orders Falklands oil project to halt

An Argentine federal judge on Wednesday ordered British and Israeli companies to stop developing an oilfield off the Falkland Islands, opening a new legal front in the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and Britain.

The injunction by Judge Mariel Borruto targets the Sea Lion oil project 220km north of the British-controlled archipelago in the South Atlantic, barring drilling, offshore installations and port construction until Argentine authorities can conduct an environmental review and issue a decision.

In practice, Wednesday’s order is unlikely to halt progress on the project.

A vehicle drives along a street in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, on Tuesday.

Photo: EPA

Borruto said that enforcement “depends on international cooperation and the conduct” of the two firms, Israel’s Navitas Petroleum and Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration, which have already vowed to press ahead with the project despite Argentine President Javier Milei’s threats of tougher sanctions.

Rockhopper declined to comment and Navitas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the injunction.

With its commercial oil production expected to start in 2028, Sea Lion has raised the stakes of a territorial dispute that led Britain and Argentina to a short war in 1982.

For the territory’s roughly 3,500 residents, the oilfield promises to transform an economy long dependent on fishing.

For Argentina, which calls the islands the Malvinas, the project would allow foreign companies to extract oil riches it regards as its own.

Its claim to the archipelago, about 480km off its coast, is enshrined in the constitution and woven into national identity, drawing support across the country’s political divisions.