"Offshore drilling faces backlash in Argentina after skirting environmental regulations", 17 Aug 2023

...The South American country granted permits to a dozen major oil companies in 2018 and 2019 to develop new offshore drilling projects near the Atlantic coast. But conservationists say it’s possible that some of them are disregarding protocols meant to protect surrounding marine ecosystems and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions...

The permits were granted by the Ministry of Environment in waters near Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. They allowed companies to search the ocean floor for viable drilling spots for oil extraction. One of the most controversial is the Fénix Project, a natural gas project near the southern tip of the continent.

A court filing by the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN) this month asked for a pause on all activity until the projects can meet the country’s basic environmental regulations, among them a thorough study of the long-term effects on climate change and local ecosystems.

“These projects must be suspended and stopped immediately,” the filing said. The court is still considering whether to move forward with the case.

Other lawsuits against the offshore drilling projects were dismissed last year, with a federal appeals court allowing them to move forward as long as operations are carried out under the strictest possible controls and involve outside observers.

This new court filing argues that the projects failed to look at “species of conservation importance” at the project sites... They also allegedly relied on previously published documents about the area in general rather than conducting a new, thorough investigation into the specific spots where drilling would take place.

“This obviously runs contrary to all best practices of carrying out an environmental impact assessment..." said Cristian Fernández, a coordinator for legal affairs at FARN...

The companies that received permits include Equinor, Exxon Mobil, Qatar Petroleum, Pluspetrol, Shell, Tullow and Total Austral, in some cases working in partnership with state-owned energy company YPF. None of them responded to a request for comment for this article...

The construction of oil platforms also involves perforating the Argentine continental shelf with intrusive infrastructure. And once operations begin, there’s a risk of gas flaring, venting and leaks that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and the pollution of the surrounding waters, the filing said.