Argentina looking for mainland business links of Falkland oil companies
The Argentine government is looking into the British oil companies involved in the Falkland Islands exploratory drilling operation checking on their possible links to interests in Argentina (and if so the infringement of legislation of Argentine legislation), according to reports in the Buenos Aires press.
Primary information leaked to the press indicates that the four companies holding Falklands’ government licenses to explore and later exploit hydrocarbons, Desire Petroleum, Falkland Oil & Gas Ltd., Rockhopper Exploration and Borders & Southern Petroleum effectively have through share holders or directly significant investments in Argentina.
The first three companies are in line ready to begin drilling next week when the “Ocean Guardian” oil rig arrives to the North Falkland basin. Borders & Southern has yet to decide.
Apparently Desire Petroleum and Borders & Southern Petroleum have a common shareholder, Barclays Ltd, which happens to be one of the banks selected by Argentine authorities to manage a deal with the holdouts of the 2002 sovereign defaulted bonds, (estimated in 20 billion US dollars) that limit access to voluntary international markets forcing Argentina to pay “exorbitant interest rates”.
Precisely the current Argentine central bank controversy was triggered when the administration of President Cristina Kirchner announced the creation of a Bicentennial Fund, with central bank reserves, which among other things would act as collateral for the negotiations with bond holders.
Borders & Southern Petroleum allegedly is also linked to some of the companies which exploit the Minera Lumbrea copper and gold mines in northern Argentina. Minera Lumbrera ranks as the tenth minerals exporter of Argentina.
Falkland Oil & Gas Ltd’s associate Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton is one of the world’s leading mining companies and is also involved in copper exploratory mining in the north of Argentina.
Finally Rockhopper Exploration has as one of its financial advisors the HSBC banking group, which has an extended network in Argentina.
Last week a former member of the Argentine Congress made a formal presentation before a criminal court against the Argentine Ministries of Economy and Foreign Affairs for having nominated Barclays as global coordinator for the opening of the sovereign bonds swap
“This financial institution is a strong stock holder of Desire Petroleum and holds a percentage of BlackRock, which is part of Switzerland’s Xstrata involved in the exploitation of Minera Lumbrera and one of the companies that controls Borders & Southern Petroleum”, said Mario Cafiero.
However it is not clear yet how the Argentine government could “intimidate” major corporations or financial institutions without further deteriorating its international image in business affairs when it is trying a comeback to world money markets.
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The british intransigence to negotiate, is only fighted with more intransigence to colaborate. So i agree with this line, and even more, there should be a total exclusion of our air space for malvinas charter flights, except for humanitarian reasons.
This Attitudes will not help us to recover the islands, but it would be a strong message that we will not colaborate with the colonial enclave that a world power is exploiting as they want and refuse to solve this dispute diplomatically.
May be gordo brown get elected. May be they dont even care what we do but morally, its the only way we can respond to this unilaterally actions.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1252133/Man-pedaloes-chaps-save-Falklands.html#ixzz0fzPIdfvG
It's the bitter truth: We couldn't send a task force to the Falklands today
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1252149/Its-bitter-truth-We-send-task-force-Falklands-today.html#ixzz0fzPWhJEt
Correct me if I'm wrong but no Argentinians were living on the FI's when France, then Spain, then GB colonised the islands, nor was Argentina a country.
And i remind you im not illiterate, illiterate are those who believe that the 3000 inhabitants of the islands will manage the big oil corporations and profits. illiterate are those who believe they are the liberators of Iraq and Afghanistan. More illiterate are those who give their lives to those acts of piracy. Even more illiterate are those who believe we are wanting a war.
And the most illiterate of all is who think that there is democracy, freedom and selfgovernment in those islands.
J.A. Roberts, you are lying, the main potential users of charter flights are the islanders and not for humanitarian reasons. From one flight a week, they land in Rio Gallegos once a month. So dont make excuses.
One thing its a humanitarian flight of the families of the argentine fallen and another thing are the regular charters to punta arenas.
J.A. Roberts, you seems to have the same problem of Mike Summers, confusing humanitarian flights with business.
John, Argentina was a country from 1810, officially 1816. there was argentine gauchos from the beginning, there are plenty of proof in the internet. in 1825 we had control over those islands and britain recognized our independence in a treaty of friendship without claiming or mentioning about sovereignty of malvinas.
In 1833 the british expelled the remanent of the Argentine colony, creating their own while Argentine protested ever since.
Will be so wonderful if they do that.
Argentines gaucho's? laugh...there are more gaycho's than gaucho's in the Republic of che idiots (new name of Argentina)
Once again, the main potential users for charter flights are the families of the Argentine fallen and possibly tour groups who want to join or leave from cruise liners at the Falklands. I can't think of any other large groups who would want to charter a flight. Even if Argentina blocked the scheduled flights the Falklands could carry on without them. Losing one stop a month at Rio Gallegos is not going to make much of a difference and LAN does not have to overfly Argentine territory to reach the Falklands.
Britain did not mention the Falklands in the 1825 treaty because it did not have to. As far as Britain was concerned the Falklands were British territory, so why mention them? Anyway, the 1825 treaty does not define Argentina's borders so you can just as easily argue that Argentina did not mention the Falklands because it knew they belonged to Britain.
The Argentine colony was not expelled from the Falklands in 1833. Only the officers. The rest of the people were persuaded by the British to stay. Please get your facts right.
Why don't you get into an airplane and crash it (you inside) like the other guy who was angry about the taxes???
If you do that, this word would be a better one!
LAN has to use argentine air space to reach Malvinas. Otherwise, they would have to take a very long and expensive route to the south.
It is funny to read how some british idiots try to justify something that doesn't have justification.
The main user of LAN flights are the islanders. They go to B.A. or Santiago and Pta. Arenas in Chile to make business and shopping. We just have to cut off these flights.
Also, overfish the area and burn possible oil drigs.
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“LAN has to use argentine air space to reach Malvinas” <br />
Oh really? So what about the “very long and expensive route to the south”? They don't have to overfly Argentina, and if the economics stack up there is no reason why they should.<br />
<br />
“The main user of LAN flights are the islanders”<br />
Once again. You confuse scheduled flights with charter flights. You OBVIOUSLY can't tell the difference. YOU started off talking about CHARTER flights! Slow down and read properly Jorge because then you might be able to answer without looking like such fool.
www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part3.htm
No, the Lan Chile link is not vital to the islands but its important to some Argentines, not that you care.
UNCLOS: Signed and ratified by Argentina. LAN or any other airline or aircraft has the right to fly in or out through the Magellan Straits and there is nothing Argentina can do about it...
You fool!, Once they get through magallanes straits, they will be overflying argentine waters. We control that.
....“LAN or any other airline or aircraft has the right to fly in or out through the Magellan Straits and there is nothing Argentina can do about it...”....
You could bet, if Argentina wants to do somethig, it would do it.
Islander, what you say could work for you some time you know, but I think you are intelligent enough to realize that you can't sustain your economy for ever without talking to us.
www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part3.htm
In case you can't be arsed to read it I'll sum it up for you in simple terms: UNCLOS was signed and ratified by Argentina. Under UNCLOS the Magellan Straits are “Straits used for International Navigation”. It is true that a vessel or aircraft passing out of the Straits to the east will enter or overfly Argentine waters but that makes absolutely FA difference. Any boat or plane has the right under UNCLOS to do exactly that. Pass through the Straits, through/across Argentine waters and on to wherever it's going.
Of course Argentina can do something and stop boats/planes using the Straits to get to the Falklands, but then you would be tearing up a very important international treaty - and I thought Argentina didn't do that sort of thing any more...
Ohhh no look who's talking about piracy???? This is an updown world!
Does Argentina need to respect the UN. No, not if you don't want to. It has not stopped you in the past...
Bullshit!!!!! you always talk that we must talk without preconditions and you are the ones who introduce “islander wishes” as one of them. Islander wishes is a precondition!!!!! You are confused!
Sorry but no.
Jorge, of course we will do far better if we can trade and have links with you- and you with us,Hopefully one day we will, but there is a price we are not prepared to pay - trading in our homeland.<br />
You country took it away from us in 1982 for a few weeks, it will be a generation or two before that is forgotten. As a friend commented to me when we met -in freedom - on the streets of Stanley 15th June 1982 -“You just don,t appreciate what freedom is - until someone comes in and takes it away at the point of a gun”.<br />
OK that was military government - but still the Govt of your country - and as yet I have never heard a democratic Arg Govt formally publicy apologise to us for what happened? Like it or not many of us remember that time - and we have not forgiven your country for it - particularily when your Govt still noisily claims our homeland and birthright.
I want to give an offer to your people (before Arg. close the only link with the continent) , but i feel nobody is prepared to it...
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