Join the race to claim the Falkland Islands' oil

The seas around the Falkland Islands are believed to contain as much oil and gas as the North Sea. But geology, climate and international relations have all hampered its exploitation. But now explorers are making progress. Eoin Gleeson looks at the sector, and finds the best way investors can stake their claim.

Ever since Britain regained control of the Falkland Islands in 1982, Argentina has done its best to restrict travel to the island. If you want to get there today, you either take a weekly flight from Chile, or you call up the Royal Air Force. Even after, 20 years ago, geologists confirmed that an oil field the size of the North Sea lies off the coast of Falklands, oil groups abandoned the archipelago leaving the island's 3,000 inhabitants to subsist on sheep sheering and wool production.

But there was fresh hope for Falklanders last month when one of the small explorers that stayed behind to scope out oil made a huge discovery. Testing a well drilled by Shell ten years earlier, British firm Rockhopper Exploration (LSE: RKH) discovered a massive natural gas deposit one that could be as big as 7.9 trillion cubic feet. And with oil majors looking to return to the Falklands now that oil is no longer $10 a barrel, this remote region is suddenly a hotbed for oil exploration again.

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Eoin came to MoneyWeek in 2006 having graduated with a MLitt in economics from Trinity College, Dublin. He taught economic history for two years at Trinity, while researching a thesis on how herd behaviour destroys financial markets.