Argentina's Eskenazi family has agreed to pay 1.3 billion US dollars to buy an additional 10% in YPF, the Argentine unit of Repsol, the Spanish oil company said on Wednesday.
Spain’s main oil company Repsol has listed 26.21 million shares of YPF on the New York Stock Exchange for 1.08 billion US dollars as part of a plan to divest its stake in its Argentine unit.
Repsol YPF, (REP) Spain’s biggest oil company, agreed to sell 3.83% in YPF for 639 million US dollars, cutting its holding in the Argentine unit to 76%, and said it plans to sell more shares through a public offering.
Repsol-YPF, Spain’s biggest oil company, said fourth-quarter profit more than doubled after refining margins improved and crude prices increased. Profit adjusted to exclude inventories and one-time items climbed to 499 million Euros from 241 million Euros a year earlier, the Madrid-based company said on Thursday.
Spanish-Argentine energy company Repsol-YPF officially informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of its decision to de-list from the New York Stock Exchange, where its shares had been traded for almost 22 years.
Repsol-YPF plans to start deepwater exploration off the coast of Tierra del Fuego in the Malvinas basin are expected to begin before the end of the first half of 2011, according to company’s sources.
Repsol-YPF planned exploration for hydrocarbons in the Malvinas basin, off Tierra del Fuego has suffered a major public relations setback following on the Buenos Aires press revelation that the two vessels contracted for the job not only are UK flagged but also have links with the current oil exploration round in Falkland Islands’ waters.
Argentine daily newspaper El Cronista on Monday reported that YPF will begin oil exploration in the Malvinas basin in February. The newspaper reports that exploration will begin 289 kilometres off the coast of Tierra del Fuego and cost U$ 150 million.
A spokesperson for the Argentine oil firm YPF informed that exploration work is scheduled to begin this quarter on the coast of Tierra del Fuego, a province located off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland.
Spain's oil major Repsol YPF said on Thursday it had sold 3.3% of its Argentine unit YPF to investment funds for 500 million US dollars as part of an effort to redirect investments to less mature markets.