Authorities of the Falkland Islands, known as Malvinas Islands in Argentina, said Monday that the islands are open "to all oil companies from around the world."

Stephen Luxton, director of Natural Resources of the archipelago, made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua at his office in the Department of Mineral Resources.

The explorations in the North Falkland Basin will start commercial operation in the second half of 2017, he said.

The Sea Lion field, which is currently operated by the Rockhopper company in partnership with Premier Oil, will be able to commercialize some 328 million barrels, he said.

"We are expected to consolidate, as in the Scandinavian country (of Norway), a Sovereign Wealth Fund, and we will use the potential revenues wisely," Luxton said in response to the question as to what a small community of 3,000 inhabitants will do with an extraordinary sum of money they would receive from the oil industry.

On a possible partnership with Argentine firms, Luxton said "I must say I do not believe that the Argentine government would allow it."

"But in the event this happens, we would have to analyze it very carefully," he said.

Meanwhile, he said that currently, the fishing industry is the actual core of the economy of the islands while the oil industry "is just a means to secure our future economy."

According to referendum results released on Monday, 99.8 percent of Falkslands (Malvinas) islanders voted in favor of maintaining the disputed region as a "British overseas territory."

Argentina has called the referendum "illegal" as most of the inhabitants of the islands off the southern coast of Argentina are not indigenous but of British descent.

Buenos Aires has been urging London in recent years to negotiate the territorial dispute while gathering support in South America, Africa and Asia.

The islands have been under British rule since 1833 when Britain dispatched troops to occupy the territory and claimed them as a colony of the British Crown.

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