Both the Reuters news agency and the media outlets Canal26 and Escenario Mundial are once again reporting what Agenda Malvinas has been denouncing for seven years: the sustained progress of the Rockhopper Exploration PLC oil project, in conjunction with Israel's Navitas Petroleum ; with the aim of starting drilling in 2025 at the Sea Lion / León Marino field , located in the subsoil of the Malvinas Islands, 218 km north of the archipelago.
In addition to the aforementioned media, the independent resource report, the March 2025 NSAI Independent Report, focuses on the Sea Lion project. It details that Britain's illegitimate plan on Argentine territory will produce 150,000 barrels per day. All of this, despite the absolute silence of President Javier Milei, the Foreign Ministry, and the government of Tierra del Fuego, whose jurisdiction includes the Malvina Islands. This is despite the fact that since 2015, an international criminal case has been underway against the oil companies operating under a British license in the Federal Court of Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego . Successive governments, including those of Mauricio Macri, then Alberto Fernández, and now Milei, have turned their backs on the project in favor of colonialism and its voracity for the strategic resources of the South American nation.
According to the latest data collected by Agenda Malvinas , subsequently reported by the aforementioned media outlets, the field has guaranteed resources of approximately 917 million barrels of oil, plus an additional 409 million barrels projected for future phases.
Meanwhile, Rockhopper and Navitas announced that the entire operation will have an investment cost of $4 billion, which puts the price of a barrel of oil extracted at around $24.
The three phases of Sea Lion
Phase 1: involves drilling 11 wells with a total of 170 million barrels
Phase 2: will add 12 additional wells with 149 million barrels
Phase 3: will add 16 more wells with an estimated production of 95 million barrels
The initial peak production of 55,000 barrels per day will gradually increase to 150,000 barrels per day when all phases are operational.
Navitas Petroleum , the Israeli investor in the project and owner of 65% of the shares, plans to make the final decision to disburse the funds by mid-year.
Despite the environmental impact and legal controversy surrounding the project, the British government continues to actively promote resource exploitation in the South Atlantic, deepening militarization and resource exploitation in the region.
