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A new oil project, situated a mere 220 kilometres from the Falkland Islands in southern Argentina, poses a significant threat to one of the most diverse and vulnerable marine ecosystems in the South Atlantic. Known as the Sea Lion project, this initiative is operated by a British company in partnership with an Israeli firm. It has reignited the long-standing sovereignty dispute over the islands between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Experts in Argentina have raised concerns that the Sea Lion project lacks an approved environmental impact assessment (EIA) within Argentina, as both the UK and the Falkland Islands government do not acknowledge Argentine sovereignty. These concerns are compounded by the risk of oil spills in extremely cold waters. Moreover, Argentine courts have issued a precautionary measure to halt the oil programme.
Offshore exploration involves the search for oil and natural gas deposits beneath the seabed using geophysical technologies and deep-water drilling. The project has the potential to process approximately 120,000 barrels of oil daily and 140 million cubic feet of natural gas, as reported by the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers and the Centre of Ex-combatants of the Falkland Islands La Plata (CECIM).
Legal Action Against Sea Lion Project
Amidst escalating geopolitical tensions, which peaked during the Falklands War in 1982, Argentine federal courts have ordered a suspension of operations due to the absence of a nationally validated EIA. This ruling, issued by Federal Judge Mariel Borruto, is grounded in the principles of prevention and precaution as outlined in Argentine environmental legislation. The court determined that the project is advancing illegally in the Argentine continental shelf, lacking the necessary official permissions to ensure that operations will not inflict ecological harm on the region.
Rafael Colombo, coordinator of Climate and Energy and legal advisor to the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers, highlighted several key environmental threats posed by the oil project. These include drilling activities, seabed disturbances, vessel traffic, underwater noise pollution, chemical use, and the risk of oil spills. “These risks are inherent to the offshore hydrocarbon industry worldwide, which has a long history of disasters resulting from explosions, spills, fires, leaks, and escapes, leading to significant environmental liabilities and damage that can be difficult or impossible to reverse,” Colombo stated.
He further noted that due to the marine currents in the area, these impacts could extend into critical feeding, breeding, and migratory zones for marine species between the Argentine Sea, the Falkland Islands, and Antarctica. “The ecoregion of the Argentine Sea encompasses the waters of the continental shelf and sustains immense biological productivity, home to around 300 fish species, along with southern right whales, sea lions, elephant seals, Magellanic penguins, albatrosses, petrels, cormorants, orcas, dolphins, sharks, and rays,” Colombo elaborated.
Scientific Research on Marine Ecosystems
Flavio Quintana, a biologist at the National Patagonian Centre of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CENPAT-CONICET), led a study examining the behaviour of various marine species and birds in the region, as reported by CONICET in 2022. The study concluded that the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands comprise a singular marine ecosystem, interconnected with the rest of the Argentine Patagonian Sea.
This scientific research focused on animals at sea, either flying or diving in deep waters far from the coast. Conducted since 1997, the study involved placing electronic location and behaviour recorders on different species of cormorants, penguins, and giant petrels. The data collected has provided insights into the important marine areas used by these and other species, their duration in these areas, and the potential interactions between these animals and human activities at sea.
Additionally, the study demonstrated that the species involved reproduce and migrate across both the Argentine continental shelf and the Falkland Islands, effectively linking the entire Patagonian Sea as a single ecological unit.
Impact on Marine Fauna
Colombo cited the sea lion as an example of a species residing on the Argentine continental shelf, approximately 220 kilometres north of the Falkland Islands. He noted that their habitat is in close proximity to the oil blocks identified by Sea Lion as PL032 and PL004B. “The project includes two initial phases with 23 subsea wells: 16 production wells, six water injection wells, and one gas well, along with pipelines, seabed equipment, and a floating production, storage, and offloading unit,” Colombo explained. The project’s duration is estimated at 30 years, commencing in 2028. “The scale, logistical challenges, operational complexities, and temporal projection of the project, alongside the aforementioned offshore risks, place the marine ecosystem in a vulnerable position,” he added.
This initiative is operated by Israeli company Navitas Petroleum, which holds a 65% stake, while British firm Rockhopper Exploration controls the remaining 35%. Requests for information were sent to both companies to ascertain their stance regarding the criticisms raised but went unanswered.
Argentinian Government’s Response
The advancement of the Sea Lion project has prompted a response from the Argentine government. President Javier Milei stated that the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the area necessitates national authorisation. Consequently, the Argentine Executive is pushing for a bill in Congress aimed at defending national sovereignty, which seeks to broaden the scope of sanctions applicable to companies and individuals involved in resource exploitation without Argentine consent.
On September 3, Milei announced plans to increase penalties in Argentina for oil companies operating in the Falkland Islands. He also indicated that a naval base would be established in the Tierra del Fuego region. “We will proceed to disable operations in Argentine territory for companies involved directly or indirectly in projects in the Falkland Islands without Argentine authorisation,” the Argentine president stated during a nationwide address. This message followed assertions from the United States that it would reconsider its position on the sovereignty of the islands.
The Falkland Islands government, backed by the UK, has extended offshore oil licenses by five years amid rising diplomatic and judicial tensions with Argentina. This extension includes a clause that could add an additional two years if work targets are met, thereby providing stability for the Sea Lion project.
Concerns Over Extreme Environmental Conditions
One of the primary concerns expressed by the scientific community and Argentine ecological organisations revolves around the extreme conditions of the area designated for drilling. Unlike operations in temperate seas, the South Atlantic experiences notably low temperatures.
Hernán Pérez Orsi, a marine researcher focusing on Oceans and Energy, warned that in the event of an oil spill, the cold would drastically inhibit the natural decomposition and cleaning process of the crude oil, resulting in prolonged contamination in the water for decades. Additionally, Pérez Orsi discussed the potential CO2 emissions from the burning of oil produced by Sea Lion, which are a significant concern. The environmental lawyers’ lawsuit indicated that the project could emit 9 million tonnes of CO2 during development and over 100 tonnes from the combustion of extracted oil, comparing these figures to Argentina’s total CO2 emissions of 171 million tonnes in 2024.
“Oil exploration at sea inherently carries higher environmental risks, and the potential damages are more challenging to manage and quantify. The entire ecosystem is vulnerable to impacts. Previous exploration activities included seismic exploration, which involves emitting loud sounds that travel through the water column to the seabed, causing minor seismic events,” Pérez Orsi emphasised.
The expert further noted that underwater noise pollution can negatively impact marine fauna, affecting everything from zooplankton to large whales. “Noise can alter normal animal behaviour, mask their communication, hinder environmental perception, displace them from essential habitats, induce stress responses, interfere with vital functions, reduce prey availability, and in extreme cases of noise exposure, can lead to direct injuries or even death,” he explained.
Pérez Orsi stated that following exploration comes drilling, whether for exploratory, appraisal, or extraction purposes, which brings the threat of significant spills and the certainty of direct impacts from chemical and acoustic pollution inherent in these operations. “Crude oil spills can harm living organisms due to the toxicity of its chemical components. This affects organisms through internal exposure to oil, whether by ingestion or inhalation, as well as external exposure, causing skin and eye irritation. Oil can also suffocate smaller fish and invertebrates, and coat their feathers and fur, reducing the capacity of birds and mammals to maintain their body temperature,” Pérez Orsi concluded.
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