The Falkland Islands Brace for Oil Wealth

On March 10 and 11, Falkland Islanders voted in a referendum on whether to remain under British rule. Of its 2,563 citizens, only three voted no. The victory set off howls of indignation in nearby Argentina, which fought a brief, disastrous war with Britain over the South Atlantic islands in 1982. On March 28, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner tweeted, “An English territory more than 12,000 km away [from the U.K.]? The idea is not even worthy of a kindergarten of three-year-olds.”

Soon Argentines may have something else to be angry about. The Falklands are no longer just an archipelago of sheep farmers and fishermen at world’s end. A promising offshore oil discovery is expected to bring the British territory $10.5 billion in tax revenue and royalties over 25 years.