An Argentinian judge has ordered the suspension of a British-Israeli oil project near the Falkland Islands, in a symbolic legal move as Buenos Aires intensifies its claim to the British-administered territory.
The interim ruling, issued by a court in the southern province of Tierra del Fuego, targets Rockhopper Exploration and Navitas Petroleum’s Sea Lion oilfield, about 220km from the islands.
The case was brought earlier this month by veterans of the 1982 Falklands War and environmental lawyers. The judge ordered the companies to refrain from starting or continuing work involving drilling, infrastructure or hydrocarbon extraction.
The suspension will remain in place until an environmental impact assessment has been carried out before Argentina’s national environmental authority. The companies and other parties have been given 10 days to provide information on the project, including its contractors and financiers.
The ruling comes as President Javier Milei’s administration pursues its own legal action against the development. Buenos Aires argues that the project breaches a United Nations resolution calling on Argentina and Britain to avoid unilateral action in the islands until their sovereignty dispute is settled.
Argentina announced a day earlier that it would bring further legal complaints against companies exploring for oil near the Falklands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.
Britain and Argentina fought a 10-week war over the South Atlantic islands in 1982. The conflict ended with Argentina’s surrender after 74 days, leaving 649 Argentines, 255 British troops and three Falkland Islanders dead.
London maintains that the islands are British and rejects the jurisdiction of Argentinian courts there. The islanders voted overwhelmingly in 2013 to remain British, but Argentina rejects the result, arguing that the principle of self-determination does not apply to a population it regards as having been implanted by Britain after 1833.
Buenos Aires has strengthened its campaign since US President Donald Trump said Washington was open to reviewing its historically neutral position on the disputed territory.
