UK analysts says Falklands’ oil industry could be worth 180 billion dollars in royalties and taxes
A leading UK market and investment analyst, Edison Investment Research looks at the prospects of the Falkland Islands oil industry and suggests the industry could be worth 180 billion dollars in royalties and taxes.
Likewise analysts believe that a successful 2012 drill campaign will be a “game changer” not just for the companies involved but the Falklands as a whole. The report scans the five companies licensed by the Falklands’ government with two of them currently involved in drilling.
Rockhopper Exploration success in recent years has started the ball rolling as the company now prepares to develop the Sea Lion oilfield in the Falkland north basin.
The drill bit is already turning in the first of four wells in the unexplored deepwater plays of the Southern Basin and “the next six months will provide a wealth of news-flow from the region” EIR analyst Elaine Reynolds said.
According to Reynolds the Southern Basin is totally unexplored but the largest prospect in that basin, Loligo (being targeted by FOGL), contains estimated resources of 4,700 million barrels, making it the largest drill target anywhere in the world in 2012 and over ten times the size of the estimated gross 448 million barrels discovered to date at Sea Lion.
But, according to Reynolds there is more to be had in the Falklands than just a speculative punt on exploration drilling.
“The Falklands offers a bit of everything for investors at the moment,” she said.
“Rockhopper provides relatively low-risk development upside, while FOGL is the most compelling of the exploration plays, although Borders and Southern remains very attractive”.
The analyst also says that while Desire Petroleum and Argos Resources are less attractive at the moment, with no near-term activity, both companies could still benefit from regional euphoria in the event of 2012 discoveries.
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“But he cautioned that the recent political posturing by Argentina could prove a major barrier to securing the vital investment needed to get the prospects to where they are actually producing oil”
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/9076530/Falklands-oilfields-could-yield-176bn-tax-windfall.html
Typical MercoP understanding of providing the 'full' story of an issue. Third string quality press if I ever did see one....
@1 50 years of Iraqi political posturing were not a real drawback to developing Kuwaiti oilfields.... and we all know what happened when push came to shove there ......
Argentina is becoming less and less relevant to the present and future of the Falklands (mid Atlantic islands not South American) by its own actions. CFK could have had her 50% cut as per the exploration agreements but who ripped up the agreements.
Even a fraction of the $180 billion will go a long way amongst 3000 people even after the City of London takes its cut for investing the money.
If money can be found for investment in oil and gas finds off the coast of Israel,Lebanon and Cyprus the Falklands is not a problem.The oil companies are big boys .Who is the world leader in this type of oil discovery and extraction ;Britain.
What was one of the other big stories in Mercopress ; ah yes Argentina
facing unprecedented energy shortage. Why not blockade a few more LPG ships.
What losers !
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iqwx9i704g
The fact that you're failing to develop your own oil wells is just testament to how little the companies care.
falklandsnews.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/british-oil-rig-operating-in-argentine-waters/
Oil or black gold as its known is one resource that will get investment in quite risky situations although I guess Argentina is just too much of a risk for a lot of companies at the moment. At least you know with the Falklands Islands that the UK can and will protect companies and not either nationalise them or target them as the Argentine government has done to companies.
Politics and money
Mr and Mrs Kirchner who made their fortune buying up the houses of people who were unable to keep up with their mortgage payments, and contrived to keep adding to it after moving their headquarters from Patagonia to Buenos Aires. When pressed, Néstor Kirchner used to say that he had behaved that way because politics was an expensive business.
First for Argentina:
Political - Risky nationalisation and authoritarian
Economic - Risky hyperinflation
Social - Backward
Technological - Stone Age
Environmental - Uruguay
Legal - Easy to kill the indigenous folk / knock on the door in the night.
Now for Falkland Islands:
Political - Unicameral Democracy with an expansionist neighbour
Economic - Small, with growth
Social - West European
Technological - Normal/Agricultural
Environmental - West European Laws on Controls
Legal - Typical West European justice.
I'd say that from a Macro-economic standpoint, there are pretty much no barriers to companies wanting to prospect for oil in the Falklands.
The Argies are doing a brilliant job in selling the attractions of their
peronist paradise to the Falklanders.
@12,13 9.8% is just the official inflation rate. If you take any official inflation rate and then include other factors such as wage inflation, immigration, quantitative easing, cost of living, and other factors affecting money supply and commodities, then you typically find the real inflation rate is a lot bigger.
Typically, the 'real inflation rate' in the UK is currently at about %15, whereas the official rate is somewhere about 4%. In Argentina, having an official inflation rate of 10%, wouldn't make anyone surprised if the real rate was over %30. The issue here is the gradient, and in the UK it's relatively static, but in Argentina this inflation rate is increasing sizeably.
Not knowing the size of the total reserve within TFI's economic zone is fundimental. It conditions every other extraction and income variable.
But, what the hell, this is a political power-play report, not an economic report.
It gives succour to TFI, the oil industries, shareholders, etc.,
and it puts destabilising pressure on Argentina at a time when their economy is going into its terminal phase.
Argentinians are being encouraged to see 50% of $180 billion as their opportunity loss, and, as their poverty really begins to bite, to question their government's policy of shooting a golden-egg laying goose that could have 'kept starvation away from their doors'.
If they're so upset then they should blame the people who walked out of talks on oil sharing in 2005, and stop being so butthurt.
Hey malvinistas, you could have had some of this, but.........
@5 suyj,
love it.
Don't you think that the old pirate that comes out of the ground looks like Think? ha ha ha!♥
Does anyone know if there is there an optical fibre cable running from Ascension island to Falklands?
Then base your entire diversification around this University as a hub. It'll employ vaste numbers of local people and low-tax income will bring in the perhaps more senior minds who are feeling the pension pinch in USA or UK to work in the Science and Business Park. You could even combine this with the military and setup a flight training school, like they have in Australia for teaching people to fly various types of plane.
It shouldn't cost too much to put up the infrastructure (get the chinese or irish to build it).. and the delivered social benefits will be huge.
Too many teeth to be Think :-)
No there is not... maybe some oil money could pay for one so C&W can stop charging 1 Falklands pound per 10 minutes of inet access .......
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9080528/Britain-could-be-stripped-of-AAA-credit-rating-within-a-year.html
Next best bet is to run one down from Uruguay or Brazil (1200 miles = £12 million) but the pesky Argies couldn't cut it then.
If you gave C&W an interest free loan over leasing the use of the cable for 100 years then I'm sure it would be worth the expenditure. Also, the it might be worth running it out to the Antarctic, and the UK gov might assist with funds.
Should give you at least 7.68 Tbit/s. More than enough for your average Islander to play Starcraft.
Why?
“You can have your oil but you can expect to be handed the bill for your defence and the defence of the oil rigs and vessels.”
And those expenses will rise to about £700 million a year if britain has to provide a new air link direct to the uk plus more troops, ships, helicopters etc.
David Cameron knows very well how the british taxpayer is going to respond when they are bombarded with lurid media reports of Islanders living like rich middle east potentates.
Guess what Mike Summers might say?
“Stuff that. We can hire mercenaries” - like he said in June 1998 when he thought oil had been discovered and Islanders were talking about Independence and were even considering working a deal with Argentina.
I cannot see why there would be any need for any of the things you just mentioned. They won't be needing an aircraft carrier either apparently, nor a space shuttle, nor a team of specially trained ninjas.
Your attempts to make the 'Join Argentina' option of 'giving all the money to Buenes Aires politicians to offshore in the dutch east indies' is just dripping with utter utter fail.
Thats where your wrong sunshine,we would rather see the Islanders giving it large, than to see you argies getting a penny,in fact we would laugh our bollox off enjoying the argies looking like the bisto kids with green eyes
They are a hoot:
www.falklands.info/history/82doc.html
...especially the last one.
It makes the Argentinians look really hard done to. Makes the UN look ridiculous. I wonder what the USA did when they read it.
Wrt The Falkland/’Malvinas’ war, the Organisation of American States (excluding the USA, Canada, etc.) minuted in 1982 (edited for clarity):-
its concern and its hope for a rapid, peaceful solution.
It offered friendly cooperation in the peace efforts already under way, whilst recognizing the Argentine Government’s legitimate right of self-defence.
It urged the UK and the Argentine governments to cease hostilities, urging them to call a truce and to refrain from any act that may affect inter-American peace and security.
It supported external initiatives to justly and peacefully settle the problem, and it hoped that the USA would broker a peaceful settlement.
It deplored the EU’s (and others’) economic and political pressure against Argentina, urging them to stop, and it passed the appeal to the UK government and the UNSC.
It kept this appeal to restore and preserve peace and settle the conflict by peaceful means, on the table of the OAS ‘for as long as is necessary’
It condemn the attack by the UK before peace negotiations had been exhausted, and demanded that the UK stop the war against Argentina and withdraw.
It hoped that the UN would broker a peaceful and honourable settlement, and deplored the UN veto by the UK.
It asked the USA to stop its coercing of Argentina and its help for the UK.
It asked the Rio Treaty signators to support and assist Argentina as they saw fit, though reaffirming the OAS principle of peaceful settlement of disputes.
www.falklands.info/history/82doc.html
Seems like an odd thing for the Minister of State for Universities and Science to be saying. BS perhaps?
@40
It needs to be taken in context, while OAS were condemning British agression, 2 Para were liberating the 114 Islanders who'd been held in Goose Green Recreation Club where they'd been held for the previous four weeks. It'd be laughable if it wasn't so tragic.
Smoke and mirrors.
Long Live the Falklands.
Down with argentine Colonialism.
Hmm, OAS supporting authoritarian fascism and cowardly death games.
Incidentally we already contribute approx £2million a year towards the twice weekly flights,probably a million or so towards the seafreight link,
and around £100,000 a year in direct infrastructure buidings at the base.
So thats us contributing about £1000 a year per head man woman and child towards our defence already.
@49 on a more serious note Argentines who want to come to the Falklands and who respect our position and way of life are usually welcome by the majority here. It's just your countrymen that come in with attitude and waving a blue and white flag that might get it stuck somewhere painful!
@50 You know how they have to put Falkland Island (Malvinas) in order to appease the quasi-nazi constituents of the UN. Well, do you think the UN could appease the democratic elements of the UN by calling it Argentina (Mar Mierda)? It's only fair, right?
a torpedo that can travil through the earth and rock, to get from the thames to the palace,
perhaps a plane could follow, just in case the crew wants asylum .
We don't accept congratulations from lunatics, ldiota!
Falklands = Argentinian 2-minutes hate - FACT
@54 Wrong. Haven't you tried this supposition before? You were wrong then. You're wrong now. Better luck next time.
@56 Sorry, “stolen”? Are you some sort of RETARD? That's a rhetorical question. we all know you really ARE a RETARD. Argies steal! South American steal! Latins steal! Spaniards steal! Argie definition of stealing = Argies steal something, rightful owner takes it back, argies scream it was stolen from them to anyone who will listen. Let's make a guess. Argie population = 40,117,096. Liars, cheats and/or thieves = 40,117,000. When will we hear from the 96 honest argies?
So it must be something that gets your goat,
Mmm// greed, springs to mind, evil thoughts , ambition , land grabbing,
Or carpet braggers, [as the Americans say,,,
One things for sure, you definitely don’t have the islands interests at heart,
Just their wallets in your minds??
.
Because their psyche can't handle losing. They always have to win.
Life's not like that.
Plus the oil or rather, their lack of a share, really irks them.
Tough cheese, RGs.
why take other peoples stuff .
So they see the Falklands people and they get green eyed and jealous, then they want their precious. THEY WANTSSS IT, IT'S OUR'S ISN'T IT PRECIOUS, AND WE WANNTTS IT. BUT MASTER SAYS WE CAN'T HAVE IT.
@62 Isolde. Why can't they stand losing? They should be used to it by now. Especially when they come up against Britain.
They never win anything,
Not even tidily winks .
.
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