RIO DE JANEIRO — The diplomatic jousting between Argentina and Britain over drilling for oil off the coast of the disputed Falkland Islands may be less about rubbing salt in old wounds than about exposing new ones of the Argentine government’s own making, political analysts and energy consultants said.

Argentina’s failed war with the British over the Falklands in 1982 was a painful and embarrassing moment in Argentine history. Neither country has given up on its sovereignty claims, but a rig for a British company arrived off the Falklands this week to begin drilling.

The notion that Argentina could watch as British companies discover sizable oil deposits so close to its shores would be a crushing blow to a country already envious about the huge oil discoveries made in the past three years in neighboring Brazil.

But while the Argentine government has expressed outrage over the prospect, it has made little mention of a glaring absence the British endeavor has highlighted: No oil-drilling rigs are operating in Argentina’s own expansive waters, largely because many oil companies are wary of working in Argentina these days, analysts say.