Oil conflicts are not just about Iraq, Afghanistan and obscure former Soviet republics in between.
The Falkland Islands
As drilling equipment approaches Falkland Oil & Gas stocks are up. So is the Argentine-UK diplomatic heat.
“The Foreign Ministry reiterates its sovereign rights over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the sea surrounding them, which form a part of its national territory. […] Argentina again warns the UK about the illegality and consequences of this new unilateral action, extensive to all private actors involved, that they will be liable of future legal demands in the maximum tribunals, for the potential exploration and exploitation of Argentine resources.”
– Argentine Foreign Ministry sources
“The British Government will continue to support the development of [The Falkland Islands’] hydrocarbons sector, the British Government will continue to work with you on this agenda. [There are] no doubts about United Kingdom’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.”
– British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Sources: U.K. Says ‘No Doubt’ on Falklands After Argentina Row, Argentina warns UK about Falkland Islands oil.
Nigeria
In Nigeria the president leaving the country to undergo heart surgery plus some Christian vs Muslim tension is increasing existing tensions.
“All companies related to the oil industry in the Niger Delta should prepare for an all-out onslaught […] Nothing will be spared.”
– Jomo Gbomo of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)
We want to own our land, we want control of the land and the resources, so we can determine who comes to our land, but instead we have communities that have been forcibly relocated from their land so that oil companies can start operations.”
– Henry Okah, leader of MEND
Sources: Nigerian rebels threaten ‘all-out oil war’, Nigeria militants call off truce in oil-rich Niger Delta.