Defiant Falkland Islands slam Argentina as Buenos Aires eyes £25bn worth of British oil
EXCLUSIVE: The Falkland Islands government told the Express that the oil falls within its territorial boundaries and that it has the right to utilise its own resources as it sees fit.
The Falkland Islands categorically reject any Argentinian claims to oil discovered off its shores, local government officials told the Express.
A bitter diplomatic row has broken out over plans by the UK to extract oil from the Sea Lion oilfield, which lies roughly 220km north of the islands.
The Israeli company Navitas Petroleum recently submitted an environmental impact statement to the Falkland Islands government, which is now conducting a public consultation.
Officials are expected to give the green light to the project, which will involve drilling 23 wells.
However, Argentina reacted with fury to the news, accusing the UK of plundering its hydrocarbon assets and violating its sovereignty.
The Falkland Islands Government insists the oil falls within its territorial boundaries and that it has the right to utilise its own resources as it sees fit.
In a statement, they said: "The Falklands Islands Government, as recognised and supported by the UK Government, has, as per our right to self-determination enshrined within our constitution, the right to utilise our own natural resources.
"The Falkland Islands operates its own national system of petroleum licensing, including exploration, appraisal and production activities related to its offshore hydrocarbon resources which has resulted in the discovery of several substantial offshore oil and gas fields."
The field is estimated to contain around 300 million barrels of oil, which at today's market prices would bring in over £25 billion.
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Drilling is expected to start 17 to 23 months from the moment the project is officially approved, with the first oil coming on tap in just under three years.
Experts say it will take around 30 years to extract all the oil from the field.
More oil has been discovered to the south and east of the islands, but at this stage, no decision on its extraction has been made or is likely to be made any time soon.
An Argentinian official, Gustavo Melella who is the governor of Tierra del Fuego, said: "We categorically and forcefully reject the new illegal British action, which aims to carry out a popular consultation in the Malvinas Islands to advance the exploitation and plundering of our hydrocarbon resources in flagrant violation of international law."
Senator Cristina López urged Argentina's president to take action against Britain, saying: "From Tierra del Fuego we denounce the inaction of Javier Milei in defence of our natural resources."
Mr Milei has vowed to regain sovereignty over the islands through diplomatic negotiations.
However, in February the then Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron insisted there would be no discussions over sovereignty as long as the islanders wished to remain a part of the UK.
