Oil Prospects for the Falklands

The Telegraph reports that the Falkland oil discoveries could set off an oil boom similar to that in the North Sea.

Some was found in the 1990s, but what has really got the oil industry excited is Sealion, a "discovery" which geologists think is about the size of decent North Sea oilfield. Other finds nearby in the North Basin, about 70 miles north of the islands, are also promising.

And then there is the South Basin, which has never been drilled. It is big, and the geological structures look good. A drilling ship is en route from Aberdeen to start a proper search. There was speculation about oil even at the time of the Falklands War, but the islands were too far away in an environment which was too difficult for any company to raise the investment to prospect seriously. Now the price of oil is high, the world's main oil fields are menaced by political insecurity - whether in the Gulf or Nigeria - and technology is better than ever at extracting black gold, even in the harshest environment.

The stage is being set for the transformation of the South Atlantic.