http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/72626.html
Prospect of oil wealth could transform Falkland economy
Posted on : 2007-06-14 | Author : DPA
News Category : UK
London - The days when wool from its considerable sheep population was the mainstay of the economy of the Falkland Islands could soon be over as oil richess beckons for the remote islands' population, according to experts in London.
As Britain, and the Falkland Islands, commemorate the 25th anniversary of the "liberation" of the islands, oil exploration firms believe they could be on the verge of striking lucky.
Britain, which stopped economic aid to the Falklands in 1992, says the islands are now self-sufficient in all areas except defence.
Maintaining a British military presence on the Falkland Islands has cost British taxpayers more than 600 million pounds (1.19 billion dollars) since 2001, according to official figures.
With a population of only 4,000, the potential royalties could propel the Falkland Islanders to the top of the world's rich list in terms of per capita income.
Experimental drilling in 1998 tested six wells across an area half the size of Texas to the north of the islands, and brought positive results from five.
Overall both oil and gas were brought to the surface but not in commercial quantities.
Later this year, the oilmen hope to begin drilling in the South Atlantic Ocean bed surrounding the Falklands to prove once and for all that the region is rich in oil reserves.
Striking oil would no doubt transform the small and remote British territory, which currently relies on fishing and sheep rearing for most of its income.
"It could make the Falkland Islanders the richest people in the world per head of capita, much more so than in places like Dubai," says Colin Phipps, chairman of oil exploration firm Desire Petroleum.
The area where today's prospectors believe oil lies is vast - roughly equivalent to the central North Sea oil fields.
"We could be looking at 5 to 6 billion barrels of reachable oil, with a potential value of 25 billion pounds, Phipps told the BBC.
That would have the "most incredible" effect on the Falklands economy, as well as on Britain, where North Sea oil production is in decline, he said.
But Phipps stressed that the islands' potential oil wealth has yet to be fully proven.
Among Falkland Islanders, excitement is mixed with circumspection.
"I'm cautiously optimistic, in 10 years time we could well see production," Phyl Rendell, the Falkland government's director of minerals and agriculture, said recently.
"It would guarantee us economic security. Genuine Falklanders who have got kids here want a sustainable economy."
The Falkland Islands economy has been growing strongly since the conflict with Argentina in 1982, with the annual gross domestic product expanding from five million pounds before the war to more than 75 million pounds today.
The island's government has been careful not to begin planning how the money would be spent should the oil dollars flow.
"It's difficult to predict the wealth that would come from oil," said Rendell.
Oil wealth would enable the Falkland Islands to achieve one long-term goal - to cover the costs for Britain's military presence on the islands.
But getting at the Falklands' hidden crude oil remains a major challenge, the experts admit, with "interference" from Argentina a certain prospect.