Argentina sends bill to takeover control of YPF from Spain’s Repsol
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner sent to Congress a draft bill to expropriate Spain’s Repsol’s holdings of YPF oil and gas company. The announcement was made on Monday at the Government House during a sudden meeting with officials, political leaders, unionists and businessmen.
The draft bill contemplates the expropriation of YPF, Argentina's biggest company, with the Argentine State holding 51% stake of the 57.43% that Spanish Repsol controls since 1999.
Out of the 51% expropriated, the Executive Power will own 51% which equals to 29.3% of the company's stake, while Argentina's 23 provinces plus the Buenos Aires City will own 49% of the 51% expropriated to Repsol, thus owning 28.14% of the company.
Spanish Repsol will so far preserve 6.43% of the company, while 17.09% will remain for trade at Buenos Aires, New York and Madrid stock exchanges. Likewise, the Petersen Group -own by the Ezkenazi family-(and good friends of the Kirchner family) will keep its current 25.46% stake in the company
The announcement came as the first activity of the President after her arrival from the 6th Summit of the Americas held in Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, where she skipped the closing meeting after reprimanding Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos for not having included Argentina’s sovereignty claim over Falklands/Malvinas and other South Atlantic islands in the summit’s agenda.
President Cristina Fernández argued that the decision to expropriate the majority of shares held by Spanish Repsol came after “witnessing how 17 years after the [1992] privatization of YPF, Argentina became, for the first time, a net importer of oil and gas with a total deficit of over 3 billion dollars.“
Moreover, the Head of State explained that ”in 2011 the oil and gas imports showed a year-on-year increase of 150% having spent over 9 billion dollars, which was almost as much as last year’s trade surplus.”
“We don't promote nationalizations, but we focus on recovering our resources”, insisted the Argentine president.
Escorted by Vice President Amado Boudou, Cabinet Chief Juan Manuel Abal Medina, and Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo, the Argentine President emphasized that “Energy and hydrocarbons are vital for any country in this world, and we can not afford to let them being managed by private companies.”
The president then went on to list countries that currently hold a control of the energy industry.
“The United Arab Emirates control 100% of their oil and gas industry, same with China, Iran, Venezuela, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Malaysia and Egypt among many others. Colombia holds 90% stake, Russia’s Gazprom holds 50% stake, Brazil’s Petrobras 51%. So this is not something we came up with one day and all of the sudden
Likewise, Cristina Fernandez replied to Spain’s Economy Minister that earlier on Monday indicated that in case of nationalizing Repsol-YPF, Argentina will be definitely sinking in the waters of populism, and remarked that “We do not choose a nationalizing model, but we promote a model focused on recovering the sovereignty of the country’s resources.”
After making the announcement the Argentine president signed a decree ordering the intervention of the company, and appointing Planning Minister Julio De Vido, and Economy Deputy Minster Axel Kicillof as controllers.
De Vido will take responsibility for the company’ whole management, while Kicillof will focus on the company’s finances. Compensation for the seizure will be determined by the National Appraisal Tribunal, she said.
The takeover follows more than two months of government pressure on YPF as Argentine fuel imports surged. The country sought to block YPF dividends and also backed provincial governments’ decisions to revoke 15 oil field licenses.
The government of Cristina Fernandez nationalized the private pensions’ fund holdings of 24 billion dollars and airline Aerolineas Argentinas SA since taking office in 2007.
Maria Dolores Cospedal, general secretary of Spain’s governing People’s party, said the Spanish government will take action in response to Argentina’s YPF action and will have the backing of other European Union members.
YPF Amerian depositary receipts tumbled 11% to 19.50 dollars before being halted at 1:30 p.m. in New York. Earlier, they plunged as much as 21%.
YPF output accounted for about 34% of Argentina’s production in 2011, according to energy secretariat data. The company is also the country’s largest fuel retailer and refiner, with about 50% of refining capacity.
Energy demand grew over the past decade as Argentina recovered from a financial crisis that included a record 95 billion dollars default in 2001.
South America’s second-largest economy expanded an average 7.8% since 2003, including 8.9% growth last year.
As economic growth spurred demand for fuel, oil output declined. Since 1999, the year Spain’s Repsol acquired controlling interest in YPF production dropped 32% to 33.2 million cubic meters last year, according to data compiled by the Buenos Aires-based Argentine Oil and Gas Institute.
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and this is just the beggining..!
Well done Cristina!!
Pirates rule!
Ultimately the RG's will be drawn into a war for the Falklands and they will be utterly crushed by the UK, heralding perhaps another junta into power. It's only a matter of time.
There is a new found confidence in South America but they will overstep the mark at some point and will be well and truly put in their place.
As soon as the drilling for oil starts in earnest in the Falklands it will be too much for the RG's to bear. However talk is cheap, F35's however arent and we will soon have them to go with the Typhoon's and our other state of the art military hardware.
I have absolutely no doubt that there will be a war engineered over this but the outcome will be the same as before the third Falklands conflict - they will remain British.
Of course that could be translated as her bank balance isnt bulging as much as she would like or she is running out of money with which to pay La Campora.
either way this is the first step in the ruination of the Rg economy - AS IF IT WASNT FUCKED ENOUGH ALREADY.
The danger may come, when her government, also thinks they are unbeatable,
The main trouble with being immortal,
Is when you get humiliatingly beaten [again?]
As far as the Falklands goes I doubt it'll come to war as the Argentine navy consists of 3 submarines which dont work and 4 “destroyers” (really little more than frigates by uk standards) and 30yr old jets. Even the current forces in the Falklands could hold off an invasion sufficiently long enough for reinforcements to come, we dont need the carriers to beat Argentina as the combined effort of 6 T45's and our submarines would destroy the air and naval forces. The Argentine s have no stomach for a costly war and have no experience so I expect that even if they did try something the 45 viper missiles of HMS Dauntless would be enough for them to call it a day and give in, not to mention the Typhoons and Raptor missiles also on the Islands and 1,2000 military personnel, it's not 1982, they won't be able to walk in and take it again without a real fight!
There is another theft coming, thats a certainty. As I said earlier on she has said that if they hadnt stolen this company then RG Land would have become an unviable state ie they are bankrupt.
Stealing to keep the wolves from the door are all they know.
what gets me is that a similar thing happened in Venezuela and oil production went down, not up. The RG's cant manage a piss up ina brewery and they will bleed companies dry, suck all the money out on a “ten for me and one for Rg Land” policy and all the while foreign investment will dry up.
This is a short term solution not a long term one and sooner or late the money will run out.
I'd love to know what the sane RG thinks of all of this because it looks like fucking chaos to me.
Do you have a degree? If so, in what? (I know you don't NEED one but i'm interested), i'm considering joining the RN after I graduate as an offier =]
It was a superb 8 years of my life, no regrets.
All the best,
Xect.
I'm looking at being an Air Engineering Officer, if all goes to plan i'll graduate in 2017, nice timing for the carriers - well - PoW at least.
I've been on a 45' and to say those new ships are phenomenal is a huge understatement.
The 23' Dauntless replaced is still a massively potent ship with sea wolf, harpoon etc its just the 45's are on a new level for air defense.
Personally I'd leave a 23' for sub hunting and a 45' for air defense out in the Falkland's even though both can do each others job very effectively against the ancient forces of Argentina.
Good luck! It's truly an adventure!
Thanks, i'm not applying for RN sponsorship till a later date, once I sign up for that i'm in for 3 years like it or not so i've got some serious thinking to do =]
Calling for the strongest actions against Argentina and seeking to invoke the EU against Argentina. They also have USA's support on the issue.
This is going to get bad, very bad for Argentina.
Ah right, sweet :)
proud to be a leftie country!
Even I didn't think KFC was this in need of her meds. My only guess as to what happened, is that, on the knowledge that...
1 - Her commander, Hugo Chavez is about to die
2 - The Falklands issue got NOWHERE at the summit
and 3 - She looked like a spoiled little girl, walking out
... KFC returned to Buenos Aires to have her goons tell her about the need to deal with YPF. Enraged, with tears streaming down her plastic face, she ordered that drastic measures be taken.
Boy, will she regret this tomorrow!
“The United Arab Emirates control 100% of their oil and gas industry, same with China, Iran, Venezuela, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Malaysia and Egypt among many others.”
Don't forget Falkland Islands in your list Cristina, hahaha
Our country´s businesmen are thinking when will be the moment when their investiments will be taken....Our state owned oil company ENAP has been affected for more than USD 300 M invested in a join venture with REPSOL YPF....so Mr. Piñera must be ridding the rabid mare....and thinking that the support offered to her was not a well thought decision for the Chilean interest.
Hope he change his mind and take the right way being neutral only supporting the self datermination of the people as the UN chart demand as one of the principles that rule itself.
@33 It hurts a lot, I know :)
Very good strategy to deverge attention on vice jocke Aime Boudou´s Fkn mess and coruption, using family and friends the get what doesnt belong to him.
Since I have a memory, nothing has change but for the worst and no body has the BALLS to fix it.
If its someone with BALLS left in Argentina and ready to think about the well being of 40 plus millon people there with no hope, please, take some acction NOW before is too late.
Like your style vix =)
AHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
cestrian,who cares about you or uk!!
uk IS FINISHED!!
Down with the pirates!
UK is Finnished with argentina,
And the piretess, will hang by her curlers .
Haven't you learnt anything from this crisis that Europe is still suffering??
How bad that tge spanish government takes this RepSol immoral anger as its own. The Spanish government should defend the interests of the spanish people, no an international corporation that hasn't got much to do with them. In fact REPSOL is part of the financial speculation group (where hubdreads of companies are involved) that took Europe to crisis and unemployment.
CFK should have done this LONG TIME AGO. In Argentina we already suffered the effects of Lack of investment and reduction of production of refined oil on 2010 and 2011, the way that Repsol decided to take.
And for those talking about a not certain investments ambience in Argentina: the rules are CLEAR: welcome the companies that produce, that expand offer and create jobs.
In fact, in these few hours that the hovernment is interventing YPF (until the Congress votes the project) there have already been a lot of offers of foreign companies to join and participate in this Argentinian plan for improving and increasing production.
I was always criticising CFK for not taking over YPF and put it back to work for the developent of our country. Now I have one point less to be critic agains this government.
we will remember ??
The big mistake was to sail the company back in the '90s
This decition solves that mistake and keeps us on the good way
Well done Cristina!
The worst measure for a country is to have state owned companies wich means very big losses to the state incomes due a bad management and political favors paymments......
So sad though, to see hitherto, really good friends like Spain and Argentina, fall out quite so badly. Such a shame.
Telefonica next perhaps?
START BUYING GOLD IF YOU CAN.
FOR MOST AF ALL OF US, LOOSE THE PESO RIGHT NOW AND INVEST ON SOMETHING IS NOT GOING TO DE-VALUATE.
SHIT IS JUST ABOUT TO HIT THE FAN AGAIN MY FRIENDS.
DO NOT WAIST ANY MORE TIME.
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