Falkland Islands Holdings plans to raise up to 10m to prepare for a potential oil boom in the South Atlantic.

The Aim-listed company owns 70 acres of land in the Greater Port Stanley area, which it plans to develop into warehouses or accommodation. The mini-conglomerate already owns logistics, warehouses and retail outlets on the islands. Yesterdays announcement came on the 30th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands from Argentine occupation.

We are excited by the opportunity to develop the groups existing assets in the Falkland Islands in anticipation of the growth in the economy, which the board believes will follow from recent hydrocarbon discoveries, said Brian Hudd, chairman.

A number of UK-listed oil companies have been exploring the waters around the Falkland Islands, including Falkland Oil & Gas (LSE: FOGL.L – news) , Borders & Southern, Rockhopper, Desire Petroleum (LSE: DES.L – news) and Argos Resources (LSE: ARG.L – news) .

The prospect of a commercial oil business in the region has led to a campaign by Argentine president Cristina Kirchner to try to gain sovereignty over the Falklands, including legal threats to the oil companies currently operating in the region.

The Falkland Islands government will receive a production royalty of 9pc of oil production and corporation tax on profits which together will amount to several billion dollars in respect of the [Rockhopper discovery] Sea Lion project alone, Falkland Islands Holdings said.

Elsewhere in the oil sector, Royal Dutch Shell has extended its offer to buy East African group Cove Energy (Berlin: LPC.BE – news) , but it did not raise its offer to match a competing bid. Cove shareholders now have until June 27 to agree to Shells offer of 220p. Last month Thailands PTT trumped Shell (LSE: RDSB.L – news) and offered 240p a share for Cove, valuing it at 1.22bn.

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