Falklands oil project suspension ordered by Argentine judge

An Argentine judge has ordered the suspension of a British-Israeli oil project near the Falkland Islands, an interim ruling with symbolic force as Argentina presses its claim over the British-administered territory.

The ruling was issued on Wednesday by a court in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina's southernmost province. It followed a lawsuit filed earlier this month by 1982 war veterans and environmental lawyers.

The plaintiffs sought to block Britain's Rockhopper Exploration and Israel's Navitas Petroleum from the Sea Lion oil field, about 220 kilometres from the islands, which Argentines call Las Malvinas.

The judge ordered the companies to refrain from actions involving drilling, installing infrastructure or extracting hydrocarbons. The order applies until an environmental impact assessment procedure has been conducted before Argentina's competent national environmental authority.

The judge also gave the parties 10 days to provide information including the status of the project, its contractors and its financiers.

President Javier Milei's administration has also taken legal action against the project, arguing it violates a UN resolution calling for both sides to avoid unilateral actions in the islands until the dispute is resolved.

Britain and Argentina fought a 74-day war over the South Atlantic islands in 1982. The conflict ended with Argentine surrender and killed 649 Argentines and 255 British troops.

Buenos Aires has strengthened its claim after US President Donald Trump said Washington was open to reviewing its historically neutral stance on the territory. London says the territory is British and does not recognise the jurisdiction of Argentine courts in the Falklands.

The islanders voted overwhelmingly in 2013 to remain British. Argentina rejects that outcome, arguing that the principle of self-determination does not apply to a population it considers implanted by Britain after 1833.