Spain’s Foreign Secretary Manuel Garcia Margallo admitted there is great concern in Madrid over the situation of Repsol-YPF in Argentina, which is questioning the oil corporation for not having invested sufficiently or paid sufficient taxes, and revealed that King Juan Carlos has been on the phone with President Cristina Fernandez.
Spain and Argentina formed a working group to resolve their “differences” over YPF, the Argentine oil company majority-owned by Madrid-based Repsol-YPF, Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria said.
The government of President Cristina Fernandez is preparing the legal framework to take control of Spain’s Repsol-YPF subsidiary in Argentina which it has accused of not investing sufficiently and has triggered a round of discussions with the Spanish corporation’s top official, reports the Buenos Aires media.
Argentina has the cash reserves to make a tender offer for Repsol-YPF SA local unit, the country’s largest energy company, and will likely put further pressure on the industry to boost output, has stated Barclays Capital.
The Buenos Aires media revealed late Tuesday that Antonio Brufau, CEO from Repsol-YPF, which has a dominating position in the oil and gas market in Argentina met with top officials from the President Cristina Fernandez administration.
Vice President Amado Boudou brushed aside ‘Repsol-YPF nationalization rumours’ and said Argentina is interested in oil companies that make long term investments and don’t fall prey of short term financial profits.
YPF SA shares fell the most in 20 months after newspaper Pagina/12 said Argentine officials discussed a takeover of the country’s biggest oil producer, following a controversy with the oil industry over alleged fuel-price fixing and lack of investment which doubled the country’s fuel imports bill to 9.4 billion dollars in 2011.
Repsol-YPF has raised its output in Ecuador to 45.000 bpd thanks to two new wells in the Amazon region, although the Spanish oil major still is forecasting a steady decline in production in the coming years, company executives said.
Oil company YPF confirmed Monday the finding of its biggest oil discovery in Argentina yet to the Buenos Aires stock exchange. The discovery was made in the Neuquén province and is equivalent to 927 million barrels.
Repsol YPF SA, which is scheduled to begin exploratory drilling in Cuban waters, has offered US agencies an opportunity to inspect the vessel and its equipment before it arrives at the well site, US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Michael R. Bromwich said.