Contracts with oil companies related to kelpers | …

The Observatory of Energy, Technologies and Infrastructure for Development (OETEC) said that "the Norwegian state-owned company Equinor, winner of seven zones for hydrocarbon exploration in the offshore areas of Argentina, has a director Falkland Islands ". Of the 7 zones allocated to this company, 2 of them are located in the western basin of Malvinas, where they will work jointly with YPF and Total Austral. There are also questions about badigning zones to the Tullow company. The municipality of Rio Grande has filed a collective amparo to end the profit "of companies related to the illegitimate British government in Malvinas" and will do the same with the fueguina government and the municipality of Ushuaia.

A few days ago, the national government approved the granting of hydrocarbon exploration permits in 18 regions of the sea of ​​Argentina to 13 oil companies. The region is located off Tierra del Fuego and south of Santa Cruz and extends to the Malvinas Islands. The winning companies are Exxonmobil, Qatar Petroleum, Tullow Oil, Pluspetrol, Wintershall, Equinor, YPF, Eni, Mitsui, Tecpetrol, Total Austral and BP. According to Oetec, "the company Tullow operated in 2007 7 licenses granted by the kelpers of the South Malvinas Basin, licenses that were entrusted to Rockhopper, the British who is about to begin commercial production of crude in the northern basin of the Malvinas ".

Federico Bernal, director of Oetec, adds that "Anne Drinkwater, currently a member of Equinor's board of directors, has a direct link with the colonialist island government." Drinkwater was director of Tullow, another successful bidder, between 2012 and July 2018. During that time, she was an oil advisor to illegitimate and illegal authorities in the Falklands, and prepared for the kelp in 2013 a roadmap for 2018 containing recommendations for the success of the oil and gas activity. around the islands. "

To find out if Drinkwater continues to exercise this advisory role, the Oetec Observatory sent a request to the island government on May 16 and received the response the next day. "We will not comment on the current agreements for specialists who advise the Government of the Falkland Islands in the oil and gas sector," said Stephen Luxton, director of Kelper Mining since 2011. "The time used by Luxton leaves no room for doubt: Drinkwater is still a kelper oil consultant, and for this reason, the executive authorities of the island can not make public their contractual status, as he himself pointed out ", Bernal said.

"Drinkwater pbaded through Tullow and from there, he jumped on Equinor, the two winning companies in 5 regions of the West Malvinas Basin, between Tierra del Fuego and the islands, and his position as a director in these companies coincides with his advice on for the illegitimate island government The Energy Secretariat's evaluation commission did not notice such details and was dismissed by the National Executive and Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie ", added Mr. Bernal. In the same order of ideas, the presentation in court of the authorities of the Municipality of Rio Grande. "We are presenting this call for collective protection to stop this delivery, and the national government has taken a stand in neglecting the issue of sovereignty," said Mayor Gustavo Melella. Justice has already sent the file to the Secretary for Energy. Governor Rosana Bertone and Ushuaia Mayor Walter Vuoto will also present amparos.