Rockhopper buys $44M FPSO stake to advance Malvinas oil project despite Argentine sanctions
What's the deal? British oil company Rockhopper ExplorationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has agreed to acquire SPVDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for $44 million, the company announced Thursday. SPV owns OSX-1, a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, giving Rockhopper a 35% stake in the platform tied to its Sea Lion oil project.
What's the endgame? Sea Lion aims to become the first oil-producing project in the waters around the Malvinas Islands. Rockhopper is developing it alongside Israel's NavitasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which holds a 65% majority stake, with first oil expected in the first quarter of 2028.
By the numbers: The project calls for $1.8 billion of investment through first oil, with a further $2.1 billion for the rest of the development. The partners expect to reach 180,000 barrels per day by the end of 2030, across a 30-year lifespan.
Sea Lion lies roughly 220km north of the islands and was the first oil field discovered there, a find Rockhopper announced in May 2010. Navitas joined in early 2020, and the two reached the final investment stage five years later. Development starts with the Northern Development Area before moving to the Central Development Area, which will use OSX-1.
Why now? The deal lands amid rising political pressure. This month, the Argentine government introduced a bill to tighten the sanctions regime established in 2011, adding penalties for companies, shareholders, and suppliers.
What could go wrong? Earlier this week, Rockhopper shares fell 23% on the London Stock ExchangeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and are down 29% over the past month. The drop followed Argentine sanctions on Navitas, Rockhopper, and 13 other companies tied to Sea Lion. Despite the tension, Rockhopper confirmed the project remains on track for commercial production in early 2028.
The South Atlantic archipelago sits at the center of a long-running sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Buenos Aires considers UK activities in the islands and surrounding waters illegitimate, citing its sovereignty claim.
The signal: Rockhopper is pressing ahead on a multibillion-dollar bet that geopolitical risk won't derail first oil. The $44 million purchase secures critical infrastructure for the next development phase — but the widening sanctions regime signals how far Argentina is willing to go to contest the project.
Read more: buenosairesherald.com
Image credit: Frans Berkelaar
