Argentina asks Law of the Sea tribunal to halt Malvinas oil project

Argentina’s government said Tuesday it has asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to order a temporary halt to British-authorised oil activities off the disputed Malvinas Islands, escalating a dispute over sovereignty and natural resources.

The request seeks to prevent the United Kingdom – which calls the archipelago the Falkland Islands – from exploiting hydrocarbon resources on the continental shelf of the North Falkland Basin, President Javier Milei’s office said in a statement.

The government said the application was intended to safeguard its sovereign rights and prevent what it considers “unilateral and illegal” British activities from aggravating the dispute.

The application forms part of arbitration proceedings initiated by Argentina on September 28 under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The Hamburg-based tribunal is not being asked to rule on the underlying sovereignty dispute. Argentina is seeking provisional measures under Article 290(5) of UNCLOS while an arbitral tribunal is being constituted. 

The ITLOS can order temporary measures to preserve the parties’ rights or prevent serious harm to the marine environment, if it considers the situation sufficiently urgent and the legal requirements are met.

Any such order would be binding, but would not constitute a final ruling on the merits of the dispute. The arbitral tribunal would subsequently be able to confirm, modify or revoke the measures.

Argentina claims sovereignty over the islands, which are situated 464km off the coast of Patagonia, as well as South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas. 

The islands have been under British control since 1833, and the two countries fought a war over the territory in 1982, when Argentina was under a military dictatorship.

Arbitration push

The Milei administration’s move comes amid raised tensions over Argentina’s decision to pursue arbitration. 

Britain has described the move as an attempt to undermine its rights, prompting Buenos Aires to argue that both countries are parties to UNCLOS and have accepted its procedures for resolving disputes over the convention’s application.

Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno has described the proceedings as the first time an international tribunal has been asked to address what Argentina considers unilateral British actions involving oil exploitation in the disputed area.

At the centre of the dispute is the development of the Sea Lion oilfield north of the islands, an undertaking carried out by Israeli company Navitas Petroleum and its British partner Rockhopper Exploration, which has been authorised by the British government.

President Milei recently gave the UK a two-week deadline to halt the project before Argentina pursued international legal action.

The Sea Lion field lies about 220 kilometres north of the islands, in the North Malvinas Basin. Navitas holds a 65 percent stake in the project, with Rockhopper owning the remaining 35 percent.

The companies plan to begin development drilling in early 2027, with production scheduled to start in 2028. They project output of up to 55,000 barrels per day in the initial phase, rising to around 125,000 barrels per day in later stages. 

Both companies say the project has the “full and continued support” of the British government.