Agenda Malvinas obtained access to the Malvina Islands Newsletter, a publication of the Malvina Islands Association , which reports that April 27, 1997 , was the day Desire Petroleum began drilling its first well in the search for oil in Malvina Islands waters. This unilateral and illegal decision came after the “Joint Declaration on Cooperation in Offshore Activities in the Southwest Atlantic,” reached in New York on September 27, 1995 , between Argentine Foreign Minister Guido Di Tella and British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind .

This first drilling was done using the Borgny Dolphin platform , which was towed from Norway to the Islands across the Atlantic Ocean, a journey of 13,500 kilometers that lasted several weeks.

“The future of the Malvina Islands is bright. An oil platform began drilling the first exploratory well in the waters north of the Malvinas at the end of April ,” the colonial publication reports with great enthusiasm.

Specifically, that first well was requested by the US company Amerada Hess , which was part of the first consortium in the PL001 area, now owned by Navitas Petroleum and Eco Atlantic Gas & Oil . “It was drilled at a depth of 430 meters in (sea) water and reached a depth of about 3,000 meters. Oil samples were detected, and a Daily Mail report says they were traces of oil and gas at various levels, but the well is considered 'dry,' meaning it wasn't a commercial find. The second well, which is being drilled now —the publication from that date indicates —is for LASMO; the third will be for IPC, the fourth for Shell, and the fifth for Amerada Hess again, toward the end of the year. All these companies, although fairly independent, are sharing resources to reduce costs.”

The bulletin is full of data and details ; it indicates that the platform was towed to the Malvina Islands by the Maersk Puncher , where it was joined by the Maersk Mariner , also from Europe. This second vessel was tasked with handling the anchors at each well site.

The supply chain

The supplies for that drilling operation were mobilized by Stanley CSM , the joint venture between Stanley Services and CSM of Aberdeen . “These have been shipped from Aberdeen ( UK ) since the beginning of the year (1997). In January (1997), the Kapitan Vaga delivered 3,500 tons of drilling equipment and supplies. This included two cranes, forklifts, trucks and trailers, wellhead equipment, and 80 containers to be used for transporting supplies to the platform. In March, the Aleksandrov unloaded consumables such as chemicals and drilling mud. Another vessel, the Pantelis K, delivered further supplies recently , ” the British colony's bulletin states.

The Argentine protests that went nowhere

The same publication mentions that “Argentina sent a protest note to the British Embassy” (in Buenos Aires) threatening to “impose taxes and punitive measures on companies that cooperate with the Malvina Islands despite the 1995 Oil Agreement.” It also indicates that the Carlos Menem government was preparing to send “legislation to Congress (…) to implement these threats.” According to the report, Menem intended to modify the hydrocarbons law of the time “to impose a 3% royalty on Malvina Islands oil and punitive sanctions for non-payment, including a ban on conducting business in Argentina.”

“Despite the 1995 Oil Agreement, the Argentinians accuse Great Britain and the Malvina Islands of unilaterally encroaching “without their permission” on waters north of the Malvinas. Great Britain firmly rejects this, insisting that any oil in its waters belongs to the Malvinas. The Foreign Secretary for Latin America, Tony Lloyd, recently returned from the Malvinas, declared: “We do not recognize any right of the Argentine Government to engage in commercial activities in Malvina waters.” The Governor, Mr. Richard Ralph, dismissed the Argentine claims as “fanciful.” Councillor Bill Luxton said: “The Argentinians have absolutely no control or right to tax companies operating in the Malvinas’ exclusive economic zone. We totally deny their right to do that,” they stated in their publication.

Britain's attribution of the fall of the military dictatorship

By 1998, British cynicism was already running parallel to the theft they had begun planning in 1995. On the one hand, they were violating United Nations resolutions, and on the other, they were counting on the complicity of the Menem administration. In Newsletter No. 72, May 1998 , they expressed it with crystal clarity: “What a pity that Argentina cannot show the same maturity, pragmatism, and wisdom. Instead, it pursues its outdated claim of sovereignty and intensifies its diplomatic offensive, asserting that the oil belongs to them and not to the Malvinas. They seem determined to deny the islanders the fruits of democracy that they themselves enjoy, thanks to Britain’s role in the fall of their military regime.”

Argentina can prosper peacefully alongside a free Malvina Islands. It has the opportunity to cooperate on oil exploration. However, it continues to try to stifle development in the Malvinas' exclusive exploration areas by threatening to impose taxes and sanctions on international companies operating there.

It is time for Argentina to abandon its spurious claim and earn its democratic credentials.”