Argentina expands criminal charges against oil firms in Malvinas to include individual executives and directors

President Javier Milei’s administration announced it will file criminal complaints against Rockhopper Exploration (Hydrocarbons) Limited, Rockhopper Exploration (Oil) Limited, Borders & Southern Falkland Islands Limited, Borders & Southern Petroleum PLC and Desire Petroleum Limited for alleged violations of Law 26.659. The Presidential Office stated the charges will extend beyond corporate entities to identify directors, managers, administrators and representatives who participated in decision-making related to hydrocarbon activities on Argentina’s continental shelf without national authorization.

The complaints will both expand pre-existing judicial proceedings and open new cases in federal criminal courts. Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno will lead the filings with support from Treasury Attorney Sebastián Amerio. The government emphasized that enforcement actions will reach individuals who, through their positions and functions, participated in what it characterizes as illegal operations.

This expansion follows an initial criminal complaint filed Tuesday against five companies linked to the Sea Lion project, including Navitas Petroleum Development & Production Ltd, which holds 65 percent of the offshore development located 220 kilometers from the islands. That complaint also named Navitas Petroleum Atlantic Limited, Navitas Petroleum LP, JHI Associates Inc. and Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd.

The government separately initiated administrative sanction procedures against 15 additional entities, bringing the total to 60 companies and individuals under investigation. New administrative targets include Shlomo Eliahu Holdings Ltd, a shareholder in Israeli firm Navitas Petroleum LP; UK entities Aberdeen Group PLC and HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd; Monaco-based SMR Advisors SAM; and Israel’s Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd. Infrastructure providers Bluewater Energy Services BV and Bluewater Sea Lion Production Company Limited also face sanctions despite Bluewater’s separate contract to supply monobuoys for the Vaca Muerta Sur pipeline.

Law 26.659 prohibits any physical or legal person, domestic or foreign, from conducting hydrocarbon exploration, extraction, transport or storage on Argentina’s continental shelf without competent national authority approval. Violations carry prison sentences of 5 to 10 years for exploration activities and 10 to 15 years for extraction, plus fines valued at 20,000 to 1.5 million barrels of WTI crude. Corporate penalties include activity suspension for up to 10 years, disqualification from public tenders for a decade, and potential cancellation of legal status.

The Sea Lion partners reached final investment decision in December 2025 targeting 2028 first oil production, which would mark the initial commercial hydrocarbon extraction in the disputed territory.