- Title: FALKLANDS: Islanders react to oil discovery off their shores
- Date: 13th May 2010
- Summary: VARIOUS OF MARATHON STARTING
- Embargoed: 28th May 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Domestic Politics,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVACSU7AM86G28M5V1C9J1TR7T6Y
- Story Text: The sleepy town of Stanley in the Falkland Islands was abuzz with excitement this week after news that petroleum has been found in one of the offshore oil wells being explored to the north of the archipelago was announced.
With a population of just under 3,000 people it could mean big changes for the British-controlled territory.
British oil company Rockhopper Exploration said last week it had found high quality oil, but future drilling will be needed to confirm whether it is a commercial discovery.
The announcement has sparked off protests from Argentina which claims sovereignty over the islands.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's government has formally objected to the oil drilling and said it would require all ships from the Falklands, which it calls the Malvinas, to obtain permits to dock in Argentina.
Britain has denied Argentina's claims, and so has the Falkland Island's government, which said an offer from the United States to facilitate talks over the issue was unwelcome.
Emma Edwards, a member of the Falklands Legislative Assembly:
"As far as we're concerned the sovereignty of the islands is not for negotiation. We are willing, of course, to talk with Argentina on many issues, such as, the impacts of fishing and potential, sort of, hydrocarbon straddling reserves. Sadly these things have been put in place in the past but Argentina has actually torn those agreements up. The Falkland Islands have always been willing to negotiate with Argentina on many things, but not on sovereignty. As far as we're concerned we're British and it is the right the people of the Falklands to decide what country they want to live under and they want to remain British," Edwards said.
Argentina invaded the Falklands in 1982.
Evidence of the two-month war which ensued can still be found on the island's misty mountains.
Rubber shoe soles and water tins left behind by the Argentines, who were forced to surrender, and sign-posted mine fields are a haunting reminder of the international dispute.
Since the war, economic growth on the Falklands has taken off.
Successful fishing and tourism industries have allowed for property development and the growth of new businesses.
A potential economic boom if the Rockhopper find turns out to be commercial has excited local businessmen.
The knock-on effects for such a small economy could be huge.
"I think it will be transformational, it's obviously just the very scale of it is enormous on the economy and I think there will probably be concerns from within the community to minimize those impacts on the way of life. So it will be very interesting, I mean very obviously for me, the commercial companies' point of view the more that's onshore the better, but from the community's point of the view that has to be balanced with the lifestyle which people wish to lead. So I think it will be a very interesting period," said Falkland Islands Chamber of Commerce President Roger Spink, also director of the Falkland Islands Company with shares in one of the company's waiting to explore for oil, Falkland Oil and Gas.
An impact assessment prepared for the Falklands Government during earlier oil exploration in the 1990s, predicted the population could double on the islands if large amounts of oil were found.
The monetary inflow could also swamp the local economy and result in possible rent-seeking behavior and increased social inequality.
Members of the community out for a Fun Run to raise charity money for cancer research on the weekend also shared other concerns.
There are those who don't want the island's quiet lifestyle to change and they also worry about increased tensions with Argentina.
"The situation is that there are actually three legs to the stool, the Argentine government, the British government and the Falkland Islands government, and at some point the Argentine government of whatever persuasion is going to have to understand and accept that. We can only hope in the Falklands here that that will happen in the near future," said 56-year-old John Birmingham, a local businessman and former councilor.
Others are concerned for the Falkland's wildlife, especially in light of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
"Well we are all very pleased. But of course we don't want any damage to our environment because we also value our tourism and our lovely clean land and we just don't want any damage really," said Alison Howe, a 50-year-old shop owner in Stanley.
On a barren hill over an hour's drive from Stanley is the only part of the islands the Argentines can really call their own.
The final resting place of over 230 Argentine soldiers killed during the 1982 war is found in the windswept Darwin cemetery.
Many islanders say this cemetery, where rosary beads left by relatives of the dead soldiers clang against the white wooden crosses where they have been hung, was a mistake.
The Argentine government, they say, can use it as a focal point of the sovereignty dispute, a clinch the islanders wish the Argentines didn't have. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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