Malvinas oil could equal 4% of Argentina’s production

The Sea Lion field in the exclusion zone around the Malvinas could initially produce 55,000 barrels of oil a day from 2028. That would equal roughly 4% of Argentina’s expected production for that year.

The project is being developed by Israel’s Navitas Petroleum and Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration. After an initial investment of $1.8 billion, later development phases could lift output to 150,000 barrels per day in 2030 and above 200,000 from 2032, provided the companies decide to continue with their plans.

At those levels, Sea Lion could surpass any individual crude oil area currently operating in Argentina. Only five fields now produce more than the project’s expected initial output: Loma Campana, La Amarga Chica, Bandurria Sur, Anticlinal Grande and Bajada del Palo Oeste.

Argentina’s mainland currently produces about 915,000 barrels per day, driven by development of the Vaca Muerta formation. Output is expected to exceed 1 million barrels per day in 2027 and reach about 1.25 million in 2028 as new transport capacity comes online, including the Vaca Muerta Oil Sur pipeline.

Other fields could also join Argentina’s highest-producing areas under the Large Investment Incentive Regime. They include Pluspetrol’s Bajo del Choique-La Invernada, YPF’s La Angostura Sur, Tecpetrol’s Los Toldos II Este and five blocks forming YPF’s LLL Oil project at Loma La Lata.

Clarín reported that offshore oil activity around the Malvinas could provide the islands’ government with between $2.85 billion and $8.8 billion over the field’s estimated 40-year life. The revenue would come from 9% royalties and a 25% corporate income tax. At the upper end, the annual amount could exceed $200 million, enough to cover the United Kingdom’s military spending in the islands, estimated at about $100 million per year.