Argentina asks maritime tribunal to halt oil project near Falklands

Argentina on Tuesday asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to order provisional measures to prevent the United Kingdom from exploiting hydrocarbons on the continental shelf of the North Falklands Basin, according to the portal Banca y Negocios.

The legal filing seeks to halt the advance of the Sea Lion project, an offshore oil field located 200 kilometers north of the Falkland Islands archipelago. The project is operated by Israeli oil company Navitas, which holds a 65% stake, and has the British company Rockhopper as a partner with the remaining 35%.

The Argentine government argues that the permits granted by the islands' local authorities are illegal and that intervention by the international tribunal is necessary to prevent unilateral activities from aggravating the dispute, which the United Nations has recognized. On September 28, the administration of Javier Milei announced the start of arbitration based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

For its part, the United Kingdom responded that hydrocarbon activities on the islands are governed by local legislation and comply with international law, while British foreign minister Ed Miliband said that the islands' residents have the right to develop their natural resources.