http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0505/042a.html
OutFront
The Falklands. Again?
Christopher Steiner 05.05.08
Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner recently proclaimed her country's right to the Falkland Islands "inalienable." These would be the same Falkland Islands that Margaret Thatcher snatched back for Britain, embarrassing Argentina, after Kirchner's country invaded in 1982. We all understand the occasional bout of nationalism, especially when it comes from a head of state in South America, where that seems to be the going shtick. The real question: Why the heck does Kirchner, or anyone, want the Falkland Islands? We've ranked theories for plausibility, from 1 to 100 points.
1. She's hoping to prove that the Falklands wolf, a species last spotted in 1876, is still around. 1 point.
2. Kirchner wants to establish an economic think tank and tap the brainpower on the islands. The resident population consists of doddering British expats who wear tweed and herd sheep. 2 points.
3. She's after those rabble-rousing runts of the Falklands, the Macaroni penguins, whose heads are adorned with yellow feathers, much like Yankee Doodle. 2 points.
4. Kirchner is preparing for her exile once her government gets overthrown by soybean farmers who roiled international markets with a March strike after Kirchner jacked export taxes above 40%. 5 points.
5. There's oil--conceivably 60 billion barrels beneath the Falklands and surrounding seas. Even if the economically recoverable quantity is only 10% of this total, it's interesting. Six exploratory wells were drilled in 1998, and they exposed rich source rock in the north end of the Falkland basin. Desire Petroleum, a British firm, is preparing to explore further but is hindered by the scarcity of floating drilling platforms, almost all of which are far from the islands and can cost $4 million a week to operate. Perhaps Royal Dutch Shell (nyse: RDSA - news - people ) now regrets pulling its interests out of the Falklands a decade ago when oil was dirt cheap. 90 points.