The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) will hear Argentina’s request to restrict the Sea Lion oil development on Nov. 10-11, putting the seabed dispute before Argentina’s 2027 presidential election.
Argentina filed for provisional measures on Oct. 13, after starting separate arbitration proceedings against the United Kingdom on Sept. 28 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). ITLOS set public hearings for Nov. 10 and 11 in an Oct. 20 order; as of Oct. 23, it had not decided whether to grant the requested measures. UNCLOS allows ITLOS to act before the arbitration ends if the future panel appears to have jurisdiction and the tribunal considers the circumstances urgent.
Argentina’s filing asks ITLOS to prevent oil extraction from starting or continuing, restrict use of exploration information to Argentina’s detriment and stop the UK from obstructing Argentina’s marine-environment duties. It also seeks a bar on steps that could worsen the dispute, including new permits to exploit resources on the disputed continental shelf. The tribunal has not granted these requests.
Argentina says the UK unilaterally authorized exploration and exploitation in disputed waters, violating sovereign rights it claims. London maintains the field lies on the Falkland Islands’ continental shelf and is regulated by the islands’ elected government. A 1965 U.N. General Assembly resolution recorded the sovereignty dispute and called for negotiations that take the island population’s interests into account.
Navitas Petroleum operates Sea Lion and holds a 65% working interest; Rockhopper Exploration holds 35%. Rockhopper’s latest schedule places drilling and completion work in early 2027, with first-phase oil targeted for the first half of 2028.
The UK government announced plans to introduce measures under its Protection of Trading Interests legislation to shield UK businesses from Argentine measures targeting activity linked to the islands. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called Argentina’s attempts to intimidate people involved in “legitimate commercial activity” unacceptable. Uma Kumaran, the UK’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, accused Argentine President Javier Milei of using islanders as “some sort of political prop” ahead of next year’s election.
MercoPress reported that Vicky Kapogianni, an associate professor of international and environmental law at the University of Reading, argued a limited order on environmental assessments or information sharing could give Milei a political gain without stopping Sea Lion or resolving sovereignty. The Associated Press separately reported that analysts viewed his focus on the islands as a possible way to shore up support amid economic weakness.
A 2015 ITLOS special chamber order in the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire maritime dispute allowed work on existing wells to continue, weighing potential financial losses for Ghana and its contractors against environmental risks from deteriorating equipment. The chamber barred further drilling in the disputed area and ordered cooperation on environmental protection. ITLOS is scheduled to hear Argentina’s request on Nov. 10-11.
