Falklands : Falklands' Oil: Business Tactics Need to be Fit for Purpose
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 22.02.2010 (Article Archived on 08.03.2010)
The reaction of Falkland Islanders to the Argentine blockade of their own ports to thwart the oil business here is déjà-vu but change the subject to coverage in some UK newspapers and it augers disbelief.
FALKLANDS OIL: BUSINESS TACTICS NEED TO BE FIT FOR PURPOSE
An Editorial by J. Brock (FINN)
The reaction of Falkland Islanders to the Argentine blockade of their own ports to thwart the oil business here is déjà-vu but change the subject to coverage in some UK newspapers and it augers disbelief. Ships mentioned in one article have already been in theatre for at least a month prior to the current flap bubbling up.
Reports of a mini task force being sent here have sparked the questions: “What are they smoking? And How Can I get some? Why? Because we desperately need it to believe what one or two UK newspapers are dishing out.
Many agree that it is not a war that we now experience with Argentina but a conflict of business strategies. By blocking their ports to vessels doing business in the Falklands, though politically motivated, is a business decision because it directly affects the Argentine economy as well as it does ours. There is an element of risk for Argentina in that the policy could backfire, with ships avoiding Argentine ports in favour of more lucrative ones elsewhere.
To execute this conflict effectively we must use business tactics fit for purpose, rather than war tactics that are equivalent to harassing a tiger with mosquito spray – it may be applied expertly but the irritated yet fumigated tiger still lives to fight another day. Weaponry that does the trick will be better than that which is deployed against us at this present time.
If, after exploratory drilling, huge, commercially viable reserves are found vessels will come to take it to market. Any excessive restrictions in Argentina will force oil companies to take a decision to drill in one or another rather than what is preferred – drilling in both oil provinces. Again, the decision will be made purely on business terms. The province having more commercially viable reserves and an easier business climate will win the day.
No matter how eloquent the vitriol, it’s not fit for business purposes or suited for the task we have before us. There’s a lot about potential reserves in the North, East and South Falkland’ Basins that we don’t know. Future successes or failures depend on that knowledge.
Drilling through typically thick source rock only starts the process of finding out the quality and quantity of our potential reserves. Oil companies know this and only will make the decision to drill when the extent of our commercially viable reserves is known.
That’s a ‘battle’ for another day.
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