A recent complaint filed by Río Negro legislator Magdalena Odarda with the National Attorney General's Office for Administrative Investigations has uncovered a scandal of grave proportions that the Argentine and Patagonian political class refuses to even consider. But it puts at risk the defense of Argentine sovereignty over the Malvina Islands, the violation of our natural resources and wealth, and the validity of our own laws .

At the center of the controversy is the British oil company Harbour Energy , which the government of Javier Milei granted permits to operate in Tierra del Fuego, Neuquén and Río Negro , despite its well-known history of illegal activities in the seabed of the Malvina Islands.

To be clear: mostly foreign companies, the National Government, and three provincial governments are failing to comply with and violating the prohibitions established by National Laws . This is a public-private crime, which , in line with the Libertarian Regime , was also the basis of the Gustavo Melella administration. They urgently (desperately) pushed for the renewal of oil contracts in the Provincial Legislature, providing its members with manipulated and false data to allow Harbour Energy to absorb a 37.5% stake in Cuenca Marina Austral 1, operated by Total Energy . Ignorantia iuris neminem excusat .

To circumvent the legal prohibition, with the knowledge or joint decision of Total Energy , Pan American Energy, and the Tierra del Fuego government (we will soon know), Harbour Energy posed as the German company Wintershall Dea , from which it had acquired all its assets in September 2024, with the clear purpose of concealing its true present identity and its past history of illegal exploitation.

A sanctioned and covert company

The heart of this conflict lies in the violation of National Law No. 26,659 , known as the "Pino Solanas Law." This law imposes economic penalties and sanctions with bans of up to 15 years for any company that explores or exploits resources on the Argentine continental shelf without authorization from the national government. This law is intended exclusively for the fundamental protection of the natural resources and wealth of the continent, the South Atlantic, and the Malvinas Islands.

Under that law, the oil company Premier Oil was convicted in 2015 for operating in the Sea Lion oil field under a license from the British colony of the Malvinas . The Federal Court of Rio Grande do Sul ordered these and other companies to be banned from operating in the country, seized their platforms, and fined them millions in dollars. The Foreign Ministry shelved the matter, "thank you very much."

However, in a move to sell shares and transfer projects, Premier Oil merged with Germany's Chrysaor Holdings, giving rise to Harbour Energy . The new company incurred the same legal penalties and sanctions as its predecessors, immediately becoming the owner of 60% of Sea Lion's shares between 2021 and 2022 .

Now, Harbour Energy , led by Javier Milei's government , through the Energy Secretariat headed by María del Carmen Tettamanti , has granted not one, but three permits to operate in Argentine territory, completely ignoring the judicial precedent and violating the First Transitory Provision of the Argentine Constitution.

The complicity of four governments and double talk

Odarda's complaint is the final link in a chain of decisions that are beyond questionable . The legislator from Río Negro is directly denouncing the Ministry of Energy for authorizing Harbour Energy to participate in the Southern Energy consortium, a megaproject to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gulf of San Matías in Río Negro . In addition to the operating permits, the company was included in the RIGI regime, which grants it extraordinary tax and customs benefits for 30 years, a treatment that contrasts with its status as a sanctioned company .

Although the British oil company's expansion goes further than Magdalena Odarda accurately denounces . On its own website, Harbour Energy states that its production in Argentina is concentrated in two areas: the prolific offshore concession Cuenca Marina Austral (CMA-1) in the province of Tierra del Fuego, and the onshore concessions Aguada Pichana Este and San Roque in the Neuquén Basin. Where it proudly states: "The business acquired by Harbour has been operating in Argentina for more than four decades and has a long-term operating partnership through TotalEnergies." Enough data to also fully involve the Neuquén government of Rolando Figueroa .

Sovereignty in danger

The situation is extremely serious . Defending sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands is not just a matter of rhetoric, but of concrete action. By allowing a company that has violated Argentine sovereignty law to operate freely in the country, the national government, the governments of Neuquén, Río Negro, and Tierra del Fuego are undermining the historic claim to the Malvinas Islands and flagrantly undermining the nation's constitutional rights .

Harbour Energy's activity in the Malvinas, inherited from its predecessor, Premier Oil, was no minor incident . The exploration and exploitation of the Sea Lion field , estimated to contain more than 900 million barrels of oil , is an undisputed act of usurpation of Argentine natural resources . The fact that national and provincial authorities, fully aware of this situation, have opened their doors to the company that participated in this exploitation, sends a contradictory and dangerous message to the international community .

Magdalena Odarda's complaint seeks to have the Federal Court put a stop to this chain of constitutional violations by investigating the officials involved and enforcing the laws that protect national sovereignty .

Beyond the legal consequences, this case highlights a fundamental problem: the willingness of governments to sacrifice the defense of a historic territorial claim in exchange for benefits or economic favors . Regardless of whether those who benefit are companies that have directly attacked national interests. It is increasingly clear that sovereignty is not defended with words, but with decisions.