The national government opened a review of companies linked to the Sea Lion oil development in Malvinas, reaching two suppliers that had already worked on a strategic Vaca Muerta project. Dutch firms Fugro and Bluewater Energy Services participated in components of Vaca Muerta Oil Sur, whose terminal is being built at Punta Colorada in Río Negro. Both now appear among companies examined under Law 26.659. Inclusion on the list is not yet a sanction; it starts a process that must establish facts, dates and responsibilities.
Law 26.659, enacted in 2011, restricts people and companies conducting unauthorised hydrocarbon activities on Argentina's continental shelf. Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said the state is examining 45 companies connected to Sea Lion, a project north of the islands. The official goal is to enforce the provision barring operations in Argentine jurisdiction by firms supporting developments considered illegal. In each case, however, the administration must prove the link, define its scope and respect defence rights.
Bluewater built the single-point moorings for the Punta Colorada oil port, essential structures for loading crude onto large vessels. The VMOS consortium said the contract was signed on 12 June 2025, passed compliance controls and that the company had no relationship at that time with the firms responsible for Sea Lion. The work was completed before the controversy reached its current dimension. This chronology will be decisive in determining whether there was a legal incompatibility or merely a later relationship without effects on an already executed contract.
Fugro carried out seabed and geotechnical studies needed to select the mooring location in the San Matías Gulf, according to the company's own reporting. YPF representatives, by contrast, denied that it worked for the consortium. The contradiction requires contractual and technical documentation, because a service may have been delivered through another contractor or under a relationship not recognised by the lead operator. Before any sanction, the file must establish who hired the company, what task it performed and when.
VMOS includes YPF, Pluspetrol, Pan American Energy, Vista, Pampa Energía, Chevron, Shell and Tecpetrol. The pipeline and marine terminal are at an advanced stage and are expected to begin exports in 2027. Initial projected capacity is 120,000 barrels per day, expanding toward 550,000 with a possible 700,000. At that scale, changes in the supply chain can affect schedules, warranties and maintenance, although the work attributed to Fugro and Bluewater appears to have been completed.
The argument goes beyond two contracts. Subsea surveying, offshore mooring and single-point mooring construction are specialised services concentrated among a limited set of global suppliers. Daniel Dreizzen argues that Sea Lion has alternatives and that Argentine restrictions would not necessarily halt the project. Juan José Carbajales warns that changing compliance conditions by decree for investments under the RIGI could undermine thirty years of promised stability and trigger commercial or financial responses from London. These are competing assessments, not established outcomes.
The challenge is to apply Argentina's Malvinas policy firmly without creating retroactive uncertainty for works contracted under earlier rules. An affidavit requiring RIGI suppliers to certify that they do not work with Sea Lion could operate prospectively, but applying it to completed contracts would generate legal controversy. Ignoring later links, meanwhile, would weaken the law's deterrent effect. Public criteria are needed on timing, corporate control, service type, the contracting party's knowledge and graduated consequences based on verified conduct.
The next step is the administrative investigation. Companies must be notified, submit records and explain contractual relationships while the Foreign Ministry, Energy authorities and competent agencies decide whether an offence occurred. VMOS needs clarity on whether the review affects future warranties or only later supplier activity. Río Negro, as host of the export port, has a direct interest in avoiding delays. The final decision must protect Argentina's Malvinas position while providing legal predictability to infrastructure central to energy exports.
