Argentina has banned four oil and gas companies involved in offshore oil and gas exploration near the Falkland Islands, oddly enough the two firms involved in the Falkland Islands' first commercially viable discovery were not mentioned.
Falkland Oil and Gas (AIM: FOGL), Borders Southern Petroleum (AIM: BOR), Argos Resources (AIM: ARG.L) and Desire Petroleum (AIM: DES) were banned from operating in Argentine territory for the next 20 years via official decree.
No mention was made of junior explorer Rockhopper (AIM: RKH) and Premier Oil (LSE: PMO) to whom Rockhopper farmed-out 60% of its licenses in the North Falklands basin in 2012, including the archipelagos' first commercially viable discovery Sea Lion.
Rockhopper and Premier, who recently upped their initial production expectations, were, however, mentioned in Argentina's blacklist in June.
Argentina, who fought and lost a 74-day war with the UK in 1982 over the sovereignty of the islands, claim the firms require approval from Argentine authorities given the Falkland basins sit on the Argentine continental shelf, which the country claims as national territory.
Despite Argentina's threats of legal action against EP firms, Stephen Luxton, director of the Falkland Islands' Department of Mineral Resources, recently told BNamericas that the pressure has not materially affected development, however, companies with interests in Argentina are inevitably not that keen on working in the Falklands.
In related news Argos Resources (AIM: ARG) is pursuing a farm-out partner for its PL001 production license, adjacent to the Sea Lion discovery, in order to further exploration drilling, chairman Ian Thomson said in the company's latest half-year report. The junior posted a US$1.2mn loss in the first half of 2013 compared to a US$0.8mn loss in 1H12.
Argos's most up-to-date competent persons report for its 1,126km2 licensed area describes 52 prospects and 40 leads with a total unrisked potential of 3.1Bb of prospective recoverable resources in the most likely case and more than 10Bb in the upside case.