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Argentina will initiate international arbitration against the United Kingdom over the Sea Lion oil project near the Falkland Islands, President Javier Milei said on Monday.
“I instructed the Foreign Ministry and our legal teams to initiate international arbitration against the United Kingdom for the illegal looting of our resources through the Sea Lion Project in the North Falkland Basin,” Milei said on X, according to the Argentine president’s statement.
He warned that Buenos Aires would take the matter to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea if London did not halt the project within two weeks.
“If in two weeks the United Kingdom does not stop the illegitimate exploitation, we will go to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,” Milei said.
Argentina protests offshore licences
Milei reiterated Argentina’s sovereignty claim over the islands, saying: “The Falkland Islands are Argentine and they are defended with facts, not words.”
Argentina considers the hydrocarbon activities unauthorized because it claims sovereignty over the islands and the surrounding waters. Buenos Aires has said it will continue pursuing legal and diplomatic measures against the exploitation of natural resources in the area.
The Argentine Foreign Ministry recently filed a formal protest with the British Embassy in Buenos Aires over the extension of offshore hydrocarbon licences around the islands.
The protest also covered approval for Navitas Petroleum Atlantic Limited to acquire a stake in the PL001 block, Argentine media reported.
Oil production expected in 2028
The companies involved plan to develop an offshore oil field in the North Falkland Basin. Production is currently expected to begin in 2028.
Argentina and the United Kingdom have disputed sovereignty over the islands for decades. The territory has been under British control since 1833.
The two countries fought a 74-day war over the islands in 1982. Argentina continues to claim sovereignty, while the United Kingdom maintains that the islands are British territory.
Milei has repeatedly said Argentina’s sovereignty claim should be pursued through diplomatic means while seeking closer economic ties with the islands’ population.
