Rockhopper and Navitas say they hold valid licenses with the UK's "full and ongoing" support
Joint statement with Navitas Petroleum
“We have valid licenses to operate, granted by the islands' government with the full and ongoing support of the UK.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
CNN's report on President Milei's Thursday, September 3 address announcing plans to sanction companies operating near the Falkland Islands. It quotes Milei calling the Sea Lion oil project a "concrete and urgent danger," quotes Rockhopper Exploration and Navitas Petroleum's joint statement that they hold valid licenses with UK support and do not expect the developments to affect their activities, and reports Trump's ambiguous remarks on U.S. support for Britain and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's response.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The statement came the same day Milei announced the sanctions plan.
After the quotation
A Tierra del Fuego court ordered the project suspended on September 16, though the companies operate outside Argentina's jurisdiction under Falkland Islands government licenses.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should Argentina sanction UK and Israeli oil companies exploring near the Falkland Islands?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to whether Argentina should sanction the companies, they dispute the premise that their activity is unauthorized by asserting valid licenses and UK support, without directly arguing Argentina's sanctions are wrong. That disputes the characterization of the project as unlawful rather than defending or condemning the sanctions themselves.
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- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Javier Milei
Should Argentina sanction UK and Israeli oil companies exploring near the Falkland Islands?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“The UK's position on the Falkland Islands is unwavering. The Islands are British and will remain so because that is the overwhelming position of the Islanders. Their right of self-determination is paramount, grounded in international law and we will resolutely uphold it.”Read statement
“The Falkland Islands are Argentinian, historically and legally. There is no debate. If we fail to act, within a few months, they will possess the physical capacity to take the oil reserves that lie beneath our waters.”Read statement