Rockhopper and Navitas approve US$1.8 billion ‘Sea Lion’ project.
On Dec. 10, Rockhopper Exploration Plc and Navitas Petroleum Development and Production Limited announced their final investment decision to develop the “Sea Lion” oil field, located in the North Malvinas Basin, 218 kilometers north of the Malvinas archipelago.
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Controlled by British and Israeli capital, these companies also signed a charter contract for a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit.
The oil project in the Malvinas would require an initial investment of US$1.8 billion to reach first oil in 2028. Total investment is estimated at US$2.1 billion for an initial 35-year phase. In June 2025, the consulting firm Netherland, Sewell & Associates estimated reserves in the area at 917 million barrels.
On Thursday, Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Ministry formally rejected and labeled the decision “unilateral and illegitimate.” It stated that the oil project is being carried out “without the authorization of the competent Argentine authority” and noted that exploration and exploitation activities in disputed areas contravene United Nations General Assembly resolutions 2065 (XX) and 31/49.
These resolutions recognize the existence of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom and urge both parties to resume negotiations for a peaceful solution — something London has systematically refused to do.
“🔴Israel steals Argentine oil in the #Malvinas Islands
🔺The Zionist entity is part of the plundering structure in the South Atlantic, along with its British partners, through the Navitas company.
🎤 @SebaSalgadoOk, Tierra del Fuego” GT https://t.co/ysSBJWthgx
— Christian Nyumbayire (𖣂, 🇦🇶, 🏴☠️, 🏴, ♇) (@Chritchen) October 8, 2025
Previousley the Argentine Energy Secretariat had sanctioned Rockhopper and Navitas. The British company was barred from operating for 20 years under a 2013 resolution, while Navitas received a similar sanction in 2022.
Argentina warned that all individuals or legal entities participating in the project will be exposed to “administrative, legal and judicial measures, including sanctions, operational restrictions, disqualifications and actions in national and international jurisdictions.”
Meanwhile, the government of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands expressed its support for the Argentine national government’s position.
“From Tierra del Fuego, we reiterate the need for the Argentine Foreign Ministry to adopt all diplomatic, political and legal measures necessary to stop this illegal action,” said Andres Dachary, the province’s Secretary of International Affairs.
“These measures will have the unanimous support of the Argentine people,” he said and reaffirmed the “historic and unwavering commitment to the defense of Argentine sovereignty.”
Argentina considers the British administration of the Malvinas to be an illegal occupation of its territory and has received broad international backing. This has been reflected in subsequent General Assembly resolutions and by the Special Committee on Decolonization, the most recent of which was adopted on June 18, 2024.
Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the oil development constitutes “a new unilateral act with potentially irreversible future effects, given that these are nonrenewable natural resources.”
“Argentina will deepen its action plan in order to adopt all additional measures, in accordance with international law, that it deems necessary to safeguard its sovereign rights and interests.”
#FromTheSouth News Bits | In Argentina, social and political organizations paid tribute to the veterans and martyrs of the Malvinas island war and urged to strengthen the struggle to recover that territory. pic.twitter.com/d7pyu1g40y
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) April 3, 2024
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Source: EFE
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