Argentina files charges against British oil firms

Argentina has filed criminal charges against British oil firms exploring in waters near the Falkland Islands in a fresh diplomatic row over the territory, the Argentinian foreign ministry said last night.

British ambassador Dr John Freeman was summoned to the Argentinian foreign office in the latest swipe in the dispute where he was told legal proceedings would begin.

Earlier his counterpart was called to the UK Foreign Office to explain recent threats over oil explorations and criticism about the British government’s plan to boost defences on the South Atlantic islands.

The comments were made after British firms Premier Oil, Rockhopper Exploration and Falkland Oil & Gas announced they had found oil and gas in a remote field north of the islands, which are claimed by Argentina.

In a statement yesterday the Argentinian foreign ministry said it “will file criminal charges against companies conducting hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Argentinian continental shelf”.

It claimed oil firms working in the waters around the islands without formal permission from Argentina were “violating” UN resolutions about the territory “while a solution to the controversy is still pending”.

Britain has dismissed the threat of prosecution against oil and gas firms.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and surrounding maritime areas, nor about the Falkland Islanders’ right to decide their own future.

“We object strongly to statements by the Argentine president and the Argentine ambassador to London and so summoned the ambassador to account for these.”