“'The case of Guillermo Yeatts (1937-2018) for subsoil privatisation should eclipse ‘climate change’ as the number one policy initiative of the 21st century. This friend of private property, free markets, the rule of law, and civil society, a successful entrepreneur in his own right, a thinker and doer, has set up an excellent opportunity for a new political era in his beloved Argentina.'

Here are some quotations from Yeatts’ book Subsurface Wealth...

“'The history of oil production in Argentina has been characterised by a continuing tug-of-war between the state as owner of the subsurface and private producers in the pursuit of profitable production of the resource. ... The effectively monopolistic position of the federal oil corporation displaced the private sector ... '

"'[P]ublic ownership of the subsurface has been the foundation of a model of forced redistribution of rent in the oil industry. [Government] institutions are the royalties system, public oil production, and the establishment of reserves, quotas, regulations, registries, permits, etc. They have also caused stagnation in the industry and relegated the country’s oil resources to oblivion.'

“'Privatisation … is the institutional change required to reduce risk and allow internalisation of externalities through private, voluntary, and mutually beneficial agreements. Privatisation of the subsurface will ... encourage innovation among surface owners and oil prospectors. ...'

"'This change is about unobstructing minds and freeing them from restrictions. It appeals to the initiative of thousands of surface owners who will discover new business opportunities and new means to obtain profits.'”

~ Robert Bradley Jr. from his post on 'Argentinian Reform: Subsoil Privatization (Javier Milei, meet Guillermo Yeatts)'

PS: It goes for the US too. (See post Transferring Public Lands to Productive Private Ownership Will Unleash America's Abundant Natural Resources) And it would go just the same for us, with our islands' abundant resources.