Argentine leader says oil firms working off Falklands face sanctions

What the report says

Argentine President Javier Milei has intensified a long-running dispute with the UK over the Falkland Islands, saying his government will pursue sanctions against energy companies involved in oil work near the territory. In a national address from the presidential palace, he said he would send a bill to parliament aimed at penalising firms planning exploration off the islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.

The BBC reports that Milei focused on the Sea Lion oilfield, about 130 miles from the islands, where Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum are due to begin exploration within the next two years. He described the project as a threat to Argentina’s interests and said the country should act before companies gain the ability to access the reserves. The article says Argentina already has a law allowing restrictions on some oil activities deemed unauthorised in the islands.

The sovereignty dispute remains unresolved more than 40 years after the 1982 war, in which British forces retook the islands after an Argentine invasion. The BBC notes that Falkland Islanders voted overwhelmingly in 2013 to remain a British overseas territory. Milei’s comments also came as he suggested the United States may be reconsidering its traditional neutrality on the issue, following recent remarks from US officials and signals of warmer ties between Washington and Buenos Aires.