The law banning operations in the Falklands now has someone to enforce it, on a clock — and without signing that you comply there is no RIGI

Ley 26.659 has banned exploring for and producing hydrocarbons on the Argentine Continental Shelf without Argentine authorisation since 2011, and it also reaches whoever sells to that operator, handles its logistics or advises it. What was missing was the machinery to enforce it, and that is what this decree builds, in three pieces. First: who. Article 1 appoints the «MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES, COMERCIO INTERNACIONAL Y CULTO como Autoridad de Aplicación de la Ley N° 26.659». Second: the clock. Article 2 instructs every agency of the national public administration to report facts that might amount to the banned conduct «en el plazo de CINCO (5) días hábiles administrativos»; proceedings open on the authority's own motion or on that report (art. 3); the authority assesses whether there are sufficient indications and orders «la apertura del sumario» (art. 4); the alleged infringer has «DIEZ (10) días hábiles administrativos» to name an address for service, file its defence and offer evidence (art. 5); and the reasoned decision comes «dentro de los DIEZ (10) días hábiles administrativos» counted from the defence, from the expiry of that deadline or from the close of evidence (art. 6). The sanctioning decision is published in the Official Gazette and notified to the Secretaría de Energía and the other competent agencies (art. 7). Third, and this is the one that touches the business: the hook into the RIGI. Article 9 adds subparagraph s) to article 47 of Decreto 749/2024 —the RIGI regulation— and requires the legal representative of the Single Project Vehicle to file a sworn statement that it complies with Ley 26.659; article 10 inserts an article 52 bis into that same regulation so that the Foreign Ministry rules on the vehicle's conduct under that law; and article 11 replaces article 2 of Decreto 1057/2024 and requires the same sworn statement to obtain hydrocarbon permits and concessions under Ley 17.319. Signed by Milei, Santilli, Caputo and Quirno. verif · Sep 4, 2026 ↗

5 September 2026. Article 12 says the decree enters into force «el día siguiente al de su publicación», and it was published on 4 September 2026. verif · Sep 5, 2026 ↗

Three groups, and the second is the one almost nobody is watching. One: whoever is applying for or already holds RIGI status in hydrocarbons. Every Single Project Vehicle adds one document to the application —the sworn statement under article 47(s)— and one more agency with a say, the Foreign Ministry, which did not take part in the process before. Two: the supplier, the logistics operator and the consultant, who have been inside the law's ban since 2011 and now face proceedings with deadlines and an authority that has to decide: article 2 obliges any State agency that learns of something to report it within five working days. Three: whoever applies for a hydrocarbon permit or concession under Ley 17.319, who now signs the same sworn statement. On the map we have loaded, the exposed chain is marine and subsea services in the Golfo San Matias: marine engineering, heavy lifting and pilotage, mooring installation, offshore towing and logistics, and vessel conversion. prob · Sep 4, 2026 ↗