Editing Economy of the Falkland Islands (section)

===Petroleum exploration===
{{Main|Falkland Islands oil}}

Four sedimentary basins that could potentially contain hydrocarbons have been identified in the Falkland Island waters.<ref>{{Cite web
|url = http://www.bgs.ac.uk/falklands-oil/regional_geology.html
|title = Regional geology
|publisher = Falkland Islands Government Department of Mineral Resources
|year = 2010
|access-date =3 September 2010}}</ref> They are:
*'''North Falkland Basin''' which is located to the north of the islands.
*'''Falklands Plateau Basin''' which is located to the east of the [[East Falkland]].
*'''South Falklands Basin''' which lies to the south-east of the islands and extends up to the Falklands Trough.
*'''Malvinas Basin''' which lies to the south-west of [[West Falkland]], between that island and [[Tierra del Fuego]] at the head of the Falklands Trough.  Part of this basin lies in Argentine waters.
The latter three basins are part of a larger contiguous formation.

In May 2015 oil was discovered in [[Isobel deep]] by a consortium of oil companies including [[Falkland Oil & Gas]], [[Premier Oil]], and [[Rockhopper Exploration|Rockhopper Oil & Gas]].<ref>http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12367637.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706102723/http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12367637.html |date=6 July 2015 }} [[London Stock Exchange]]</ref><ref>http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/138815/Oil_Discovered_at_Isobel_Deep Rig Zone</ref><ref>http://subseaworldnews.com/2015/05/12/fogl-isobel-deep-bop-fixed/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531122733/http://subseaworldnews.com/2015/05/12/fogl-isobel-deep-bop-fixed/ |date=31 May 2015 }} Subsea World News</ref> In 2023, Rockhopper (working with Tel Aviv-listed Navitas Petroleum) indicated that it had been presented with a new development plan for its Sea Lion project that aimed to cut costs and proceed in phases. It was stated that: "If realized, the new plan — with a total price tag of $2.2 billion — could lead to 80,000 barrels per day of production (up to 100,000 b/d at peak) via a leased floating production, storage and offloading unit". A final investment decision was targeted for early 2024, though it experienced delays.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.energyintel.com/00000187-245b-dd7d-a597-377b8e9d0000 | title=Rockhopper, Navitas Look to Reboot Falklands Project |website=Energy Intelligence |last=Schmidt |first=Katherine  |date=27 March 2023 |accessdate=9 July 2023 }}</ref> 

A public consultation on the project took place in the summer of 2024 and was reported to have garnered widespread support from Falkland Islanders. Since Britain's newly elected [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Government]] banned similar oil projects in the United Kingdom, this created the prospect for a potential conflict between the Falkland Island's government and the British government.  Nevertheless, the authority to approve oil development around the islands was said to rest solely with the Falkland Island's government.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.offshore-technology.com/news/uk-cant-stop-falklands-islands-extracting-oil-from-sea-lion-field/?cf-view | title=UK can’t stop Falkland Islands extracting million of barrels of oil |website=Offshore Technology |last=Pearcy |first=Ed  |date=30 September 2024 |accessdate=30 September 2024 }}</ref> In November 2024, the Falkland's government Executive Council indicated that, while the public consultation process had been successfully concluded, "some matters" related to the Environmental Impact Statement required "further discussion" and that any development and production program would need to be considered separately by the Executive Council.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://en.mercopress.com/2024/11/14/falklands-sea-lion-oil-development-area-eis-public-consultation-considered | title=Falklands, Sea Lion oil development area EIS public consultation considered |website=Merco Press  |date=14 November 2024 |accessdate=18 November 2024 }}</ref> 

Navitas Petroleum subsequently indicated that a final investment decision was delayed to mid-2025 with first oil not anticipated until late 2027, at the earliest. Although certified gross 2C recoverable oil resources had increased from 791 million bbls to 917 million bbls, phase 1 costs had increased to $1.4 billion.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.offshore-energy.biz/sea-lions-first-roar-pushed-back-as-costs-rise-to-1-4-billion-for-falkland-islands-oil-project/ | title=Sea lion’s first roar pushed back as costs rise to $1.4 billion for Falkland Islands’ oil project |website=Offshore Energy  |date=26 November 2024 |accessdate=1 December 2024 |last=Cavcic |first=Melisa }}</ref>