STANLEY, Falkland Islands, June 3 (UPI) -- Shares in Rockhopper, one of the companies prospecting for North Falkland basin oil and gas deposits, declined amid a continuing war of words between Argentina and Britain over Buenos Aires' sovereignty claim on the islands.
Rockhopper said it had no idea why its shares had dipped 10 percent in recent trading, but analysts said the polemics unleashed by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner could be one major cause.
Argentina intensified its attacks on Britain, reasserting its claim on the Falklands, despite a largely one-sided war of words, with occasional British rejoinders to refute Argentine statements. London maintains the Falklands, a British Overseas Territory, exercised self-determination by choosing to stay under U.K. rule.
Argentina and Britain went to war over the islands after an Argentine military-backed invasion in April 1982. The Argentine force was repulsed after a 74-day war that resulted in the deaths of 906 Argentine and British military personnel and three civilians.
Argentina revived its sovereignty claim after British oil companies, backed by British and Falklands governments, began prospecting in underwater reserves believed to be as large as Saudi Arabia's holdings.
Responding to the share drop, Rockhopper said there's no reason to believe that oil discovered in the Falkland Islands will fall short of quality expectations following scientific reports.
"The company is not aware of any reason for the (share) movement," Rockhopper said in a statement.
Rockhopper has been drilling the second well of the current Falklands oil round in the Sea Lion prospect of the North Falkland Basin. It said work was continuing on analyzing the results of the Sea Lion 14/10-2 well and "is expected to be concluded shortly."
It said the company directors "have no reason at present to believe that the outcome of the analysis will not meet their expectations as regards to potential resources."
A sample of the oil drilled after Rockhopper's last operation is currently being studied by scientists in Britain.
Initial tests on an oil sample in Stanley indicated the presence of a medium-grade crude "broadly in line with the directors' expectations, with an API of 26.3," Rockhopper said.
The current round of drilling for oil in the Falklands water began in February. The first reports after drilling in Desire Petroleum's Liz prospect proved negative. The next results, following Rockhopper's exploration in the Sea Lion prospect, proved the presence of oil.
Exploration rig Ocean Guardian is drilling at the Toroa prospect, southeast of the Falklands, for Falkland Oil and Gas and BHP Billiton. It is the third oil company this year to begin exploratory drilling in Falklands waters.
Each report on the direction of the oil prospecting operation was followed by Argentine condemnation of Britain and a repeat of its sovereignty claim.
