MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Ambassador Argüello explains to the US business community YPF seizure
Argentina explained that the YPF seizure was carried out “in order to avoid an energy crisis” in an article which was published in the US edition of The Financial Times newspaper and signed by Ambassador Jorge Argüello. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesHe fails to mention that it was the Argentine governments insistence on a price cap on fuel for the domestic market that tied YPFs hands and made their profits tiny.
May 27th, 2012 - 07:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0He also fails to mention why the Argentine government only nationalised the foreign owned parts of YPF, and not those parts owned by private Argentine investors.
And finally he also fails to mention that the seizure was illegal according the their own constitution, which they then had to change to make it legal, and then applied it retrospectively.
He really must think the US business community are stupid. However, you don't get to be a successful business man or woman by being stupid or frivolous with your money.
If Mr Arguello believes that this letter will encourage businesses from North America (especially the US) to invest in Argentina, he must be more deluded than I thought.
No way, next you'll be telling us your not forcing the Big Mac prices lower!!!!
May 27th, 2012 - 08:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0Amigo matero
May 27th, 2012 - 08:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0Between you and me, if we are to pay for what we get, the Big Mac should come with a few quids at delievery :)
True
May 27th, 2012 - 08:56 am - Link - Report abuse 0Yes, but, and sorry to go on about this but has Repsol been PAID back????
May 27th, 2012 - 09:09 am - Link - Report abuse 0V
May 27th, 2012 - 09:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0No need to pay them back, they filled their pockets already, not fulfilling their obligations. Hence, all is settled, talk to the WTO and fill in some forms, should you disagree...
5 v for victory (#)
May 27th, 2012 - 09:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0In a cigar smoked filled room somewhere, Old Money men are working on the pay back, the last time they were miffed was around about the same time as the Asian meltdown when a certain Malaysian leader was rubbing them up the wrong way with hydroelectric dams and beer sponsorship of Commonwealth games..............“One more single malt dear boy?, now what were saying about taking our money out of that country”........... Ding Dong
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!
May 27th, 2012 - 12:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I wonder if he thinks American Oil men are as stupid as RGs? They know exactly what is happening in Argentina without seeing in an advertisement. If there was an investment opportunity they would already be there.
May 27th, 2012 - 12:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0At some point very soon Arg is going to need Int'l funds to keep themselves going then they will have to come up with some sort of plan to pay off the holdouts, ICSID judgments and YPF.
It is sooner rather than later...
This man is a disgrace to any diplomatic corp nevermind a country the size of Argentina.
May 27th, 2012 - 01:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Like the rest of the cretins allied to The Mad Bitch of Argentina they think that the rest of the world is stupid enough to believe their lies.
Repsol having to sell oil to Argentina at US$ 40 per barrel when the world price was US$ 100 per barrel had more to do with the lack of investment in new fields than anything else.
But I just cannot wait for the 'new' management to demonstrate their lack of ability. And more importantly their lack of funding for the new fracking fields.
Apart from the so called 5% instant rise in 'production' as a result of the oil being stored because nothing was moving while the Old Git and HomoBoy were 'running New YPF' to the release under the new patsy nothing has been announced!
We have seen Patsy lecturing a bunch of malevolent looking 'workers' telling them he needed hundreds of days to plan (especially to do an asset audit I should think) but that is about it.
Appartently Patsy was asked to take over two years ago but turned them down when they didn't come up with the money he thought he was worth. Now we will find out who was right.
Good points well made (by Arguello that is not Chris!)
May 27th, 2012 - 02:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Directly from the Argentina constitution: “Expropriation for reasons of
May 27th, 2012 - 02:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0public interest must be authorized by law and previously compensated.”
Dictators don't have to worry about Constitutions do they?
May 27th, 2012 - 04:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I really can't blame Argentina for wanting some form of energy security and control over it's own resources. the question I have, and maybe someone here can answer it, is where will the money come from to develope new deposits? Won't insisting on National control and selling product at a fixed low rate make it difficult to attract investors? In addition, won't Argentina's issues with the IMF and rumoured economic problems make it difficult to borrow money?
May 27th, 2012 - 06:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Dave
May 27th, 2012 - 06:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Banco del Sur :)
Argentina still remains in default on its debt to the Paris Club of Sovereign Creditors and has not paid the sums that the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Dispute has determined it owes to foreign companies so Arguello will have his work cut out to convince the American Business Community.
May 27th, 2012 - 06:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 015 Guzz
May 27th, 2012 - 06:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I think I am correct that the Bank of the South is in fact bankrolled by Brasil?
And you expect them to bankroll this bunch of crooks?
Ha ha ha, ah ah ah, I have fell off the chair laughing.
Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil are the biggest contributors to Banco del Sur, ChrisR, you can calmly take your place on that chair again :)
May 27th, 2012 - 06:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0we dont supose he mentioned the falklands by any chance .
May 27th, 2012 - 08:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@Guzz
May 27th, 2012 - 10:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This is the most recent thing I could find regarding Banco del Sur
www.seprin.com/2011/09/08/argentina-backs-membership-in-regional-banco-del-sur-lending-plan
This article doesn't really say, though, if this bank actually exists as more then a proposal or if it has been funded yet. Do you know any different?
#14 - The truth of the matter is that there is no Argentina money available; it should take at least 25 billion US$ for a start-up. As it is well known, nobody has ever been able to extract oil from oil shale at a profit. Of course, governments are not supposed to make a profit, but to just start recovering oil from such a huge undertaking will not be done in my lifetime.
May 27th, 2012 - 10:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Banco del Sur was founded 2007 and until today, it has been ratified by Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Ratification of Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay is still pending.
May 27th, 2012 - 11:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The funding is in place, as is the location of the headquarters, in Venezuela
Britain does need a President looks like J.Argüello..!
May 28th, 2012 - 09:30 am - Link - Report abuse 0Dave
May 28th, 2012 - 10:22 am - Link - Report abuse 0A little update on Banco del Sur.
Uruguay has indeed ratified it per April 2012, meaning Banco del Sur is live and kicking as per May 2012. It has started...
@21 Banco del Sur seems to be something of a half-assed enterprise. The “Bank” was officially inaugurated in 2007. Unfortunately, it didn't have any money. “In March 2009 a number of Latin American nations agreed to contribute US$7 billion towards the bank's start-up capital. Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil are to contribute $2 billion each, and Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay agreed to contribute varying amounts to provide the remaining US$1 billion.” However, on 26 September 2009, the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela signed an agreement establishing the South Bank with an initial capital of US$20 billion. But this initial capital is nearly three times the first proposal. Pro-rata, this would raise the contribution of the three major players to around US$6 billion each. If argieland, for example, were to pump US$6 billion into this enterprise, questions would surely be asked around the world about argieland's own debt repayments. Especially with an unknown compensation amount for Repsol undetermined. Venezuela is also in a pretty poor state. No less than half its daily crude oil exports to China are actually debt repayment. But Venezuela owes China approaching $40 billion. It's fairly obvious that Venezuela's economy is in a poor state or it wouldn't need such loans. So that's two countries pledging money they don't have. Should be fun to watch.
May 28th, 2012 - 10:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0Conqueror
May 28th, 2012 - 10:47 am - Link - Report abuse 0The bank is active per May 2012, so you can freely start inventing arguments about how Argentina financed it... It's not in the future, it already happened :)
See:
May 28th, 2012 - 12:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d0b95244-d97d-11e0-b52f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wAT9zNi6
Simon
May 28th, 2012 - 01:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Interesting reading, but old news. Your link is from September last year, and a lot of water has run under the bridges since. Banco del Sur is a reality as for May 2012, after Uruguay ratified it in April. Now we are only waiting for Brazil and Paraguay to ratify it for full effect :)
Unless Brazil guarantees all the capital the bank will never have any $. It is like Germany guaranteeing everything for EU....never happen. No one loans $ to Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina now why wold putting the 3 losers together help anything?
May 28th, 2012 - 01:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0BTw Arg needs U$ 15 BILLION/yr minimum to get the fracking going...never going to happen.
yanqui
May 28th, 2012 - 01:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 015B/year for what? Only to proove you're right, I would guess :)
YANKEE not Yanqui you stupid sudaca
May 28th, 2012 - 01:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Sudaca me suda aca, yanqui :)
May 28th, 2012 - 01:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And it's yanqui, with lower-case letters.
Guzz no matter what you education level or your English proficiency you would be a maid or gardener if you lived in the USA EU UK. I don't care what maids think....
May 28th, 2012 - 01:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Mayhap, yanqui, that is why I don't live there. Even so, in Denmark, I'm neither of it. Must be because Denmark isn't part of the EU...
May 28th, 2012 - 01:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You have never been outside of SA stop lying. Do they have a pool cleaning degree in SA?
May 28th, 2012 - 01:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0yanqui
May 28th, 2012 - 02:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If you say so :)
#34 Guzz
May 28th, 2012 - 03:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I love telling you this but Denmark is a part of the EU but does not use the Euro.
http://www.eucountrylist.com/
You are a pitiful lair and I must conclude you are Argentinian and not Uruguayan.
Ciao!!!!!
#33 I don't care what racist ignoramuses think
May 28th, 2012 - 03:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Redrabs
May 28th, 2012 - 03:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I'm fully aware of the fact that Denmark is part of EU :)
According to yanqui, I would be a maid or a gardener in the EU, and regarding the fact that I'm IN Denmark and not active in any of those professions, I assume Denmark isn't a member of the EU, in yanqui's little world...
The EU launched a challenge at the World Trade Organization against Argentina's restrictions on imports stating that Argentina's import restrictions violate international trade rules. 19 other countries supported the EU position.
May 28th, 2012 - 07:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!