Israeli oil company Navitas Petroleum was sanctioned by Argentina for exploring hydrocarbons off the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), according to the country's Foreign Ministry on Saturday.  

Argentina law requires a permit for work on the country's continental shelf and any breaching of the rules is sanctioned with a 5 to 20 years ban on activities.

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The ministry's statement said, "The Ministry of Energy, after conducting an appropriate administrative process, determined that Navitas' activities were illegal, so the company was barred from operating in Argentina for 20 years."

Argentina's Ministry of Energy and Foreign Ministry announced last July sanctions targeting oil firms Navitas Petroleum LP ("Israel") and Chrysaor Holdings Limited and Harbour Energy Plc (UK) due to activities related to hydrocarbon exploration on the Argentine continental shelf in the North Malvinas Basin, "carried out under illegal licenses from the illegitimate authorities of the Malvinas Islands."

The Falkland Islands or the Malvinas are still the subjects of a long dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina, which caused an armed conflict in 1982, resulting in London's victory. Back then, Argentina tried to establish itself on the islands, controlled by the UK since 1833, by force.  

In March 2013, the archipelago held a referendum on the territory's status, with 99.8% of local residents who preferred to remain a UK overseas territory. Argentina has not recognized the vote's results. Tensions over the territory escalated after British oil firms said they had found new oil and gas deposits near the islands in 2015.