Interim order targets Sea Lion oilfield near the Falklands

An Argentine judge has ordered Rockhopper Exploration and Navitas Petroleum to suspend material activity linked to the Sea Lion oilfield, located about 220km from the Falkland Islands. The interim order bars drilling, infrastructure installation and hydrocarbon extraction while an environmental impact assessment is conducted by the competent national authority.

What the court order covers

The ruling was issued on Wednesday by a court in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina’s southernmost province. It requires the companies to refrain from initiating, continuing, carrying out or commissioning material actions connected with the project.

The judge also gave the parties 10 days to submit information about the project’s status, its contractors and its financiers. The suspension remains in place until the required environmental assessment procedure has been completed before the relevant national authority.

Why Argentina is challenging the project

The case was brought earlier this month by veterans of the 1982 war and environmental lawyers, who sought to block development of the oilfield. President Javier Milei’s administration has separately taken legal action, arguing that the project violates a United Nations resolution calling on both sides to avoid unilateral actions in the islands until their dispute is resolved.

Argentina announced a day before the ruling that it would file additional legal complaints against companies exploring for oil near the islands. Britain rejects the jurisdiction of Argentine courts in the Falkland Islands and maintains that the territory is British; Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over the islands, which it calls the Malvinas. Read the context: Falklands Dispute Resurfaces Amid Argentina’s World Cup Victory Over England.

What happens next

The parties have 10 days to provide the court with information on the project, its contractors and its financiers. The order is tied to completion of an environmental impact assessment before the competent national authority.