A new document published in May by the oil company Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. , which Agenda Malvinas had access to, allows us to piece together the historical puzzle of Production License PL001. This 1,126 km² block is located in the North Malvinas Basin, adjacent to Sea Lion . The document perfectly illustrates the speculative capitalism operating on Argentina's stolen continental shelf.

After the major multinationals ( Amerada Hess and Shell ) withdrew in the late 1990s, the British firm Argos Resources Limited , based in Puerto Argentino, managed to retain 100% of the rights to the block for over 25 years through systematic extensions granted by the colonial administration. However, unable to afford the enormous costs of deep exploration, it transformed the concession into a financial commodity.  

Argos' initial shot at JHI (2023)

On May 3, 2023, Argos Resources announced an agreement to divest itself of 100% of the license for the PL001 oil field. The buyer was the Canadian firm JHI Associates Inc.

The terms of the transfer outlined the sale of the asset: Argos handed over the block in exchange for £303,500 in cash (approximately $380,000 at the exchange rate at the time) and a package of 8.46 million ordinary shares .

Once the agreement was finalized in May of that year, Argos delisted from the London Stock Exchange (AIM: ARG.L) and in September 2023 formalized its voluntary dissolution and liquidation. The oil company, founded in the islands, sold its only asset in the South Atlantic, received the cash, distributed the shares, and closed its doors.

From JHI to acquisition by Eco Atlantic (2026)

JHI 's tenure as the sole license holder for area PL001 was short-lived. The Canadian company Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. , which already held a 6.6% minority stake in JHI , completed the takeover.

On March 10, 2026 , Eco Atlantic signed the binding agreement to acquire the remaining 93.4% of JHI 's shares. According to the official filing with the Toronto and London stock exchanges (TSX-V/AIM) on May 11, 2026, the transaction to acquire JHI—and therefore the rights to the Malvina Islands block—was valued at US$52.3 million .

The 65/35 agreement with Navitas Petroleum

But Eco Atlantic will not undertake exploration alone, nor has it sold its entire stake. Prior to the closing of the acquisition, in February 2026, JHI and Eco signed a farm-out agreement with the Israeli company Navitas Petroleum .

What was sold in 2023 for a handful of pounds in cash became, by 2026, an asset packaged within a $52.3 million agreement. A transnational speculative circuit that operates freely over the sovereignty of Argentina's seabed.