Spanish oil company Repsol ends operations in Argentina
Repsol has raised a total $6.3bn (£3.8bn) with the sale of Argentine government bonds and YPF sharesSpanish oil company Repsol has ended its operations in Argentina, two years after the government seized its assets.
Last month the Argentine congress gave final approval to pay $5bn (£3bn) in compensation for Repsol's stake in Argentine oil firm YPF.
The Spanish company has now announced that it has sold the last batch of bonds it received to cover its losses.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had accused Repsol of under-investing in oil production.
Before the government seized Repsol's assets in April 2012, the Spanish company had just over 50% of YPF shares.
The company initially estimated the value of its assets at £10.5bn (£6.3bn), but it later settled for about half of that amount.
As part of the settlement, Repsol agreed to drop its lawsuits against Argentina.
The deal was seen as crucial in helping Argentina attract foreign investment in its shale oil and gas reserves, which are among the world's largest.
YPF is responsible for about a third of Argentina's oil and a quarter of its gas output.
In 2010 Argentina started importing fuel for the first time since YPF was privatised in 1993.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner blamed Repsol for draining YPF of its resources since acquiring a controlling stake in the 1990s, and not investing enough to cope with growing internal demand.
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Guyana, Argentina in tourism, environmental exchange programmes
- Friday, 23 May 2014 18:15
- Written by Denis Scott Chabrol
L to R: Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Indranauth Haralsingh; Argentina's Ambassador to Guyana, Luis Martino; Guyana's Tourism Minister, Irfan Ali and the Argentina's Deputy Ambassador to Guyana, Ariel Gonzalez Serafini
“All these initiatives follow into the broad goal of increasing the depth and scope of the technical cooperation between Guyana and Argentina, in this particular case in tourism and environmental protection and natural resources, and we are hoping that this represent the kick-off of a very fruitful and sustained cooperation relations,” said Argentine Ambassador to Guyana, Luis Martino.
To be financed by the Argentine Fund of Horizontal Cooperation, the tourism project would include one-week exchange visits by the Guyana Tourism Authority and Argentina’s Ministry of Tourism. The participants will focus on the methodology for crafting a strategic tourism plan as well as product development, statistics and marketing.
The Argentine envoy said the tourism development project would also see his country providing an intensive Spanish language course for representatives of the Guyana Tourism Authority and te translation of material from the public and private sector to facilitate this English-speaking country’s participation in the International Tourism Fair (FIT) in Buenos Aires.
Martino said regarding the Protected Areas Commission said two of its representatives would visit the Argentina National Parks Administration (APN). In turn, two APN officials would visit Guyana to provide technical assistance in the development, planning and management of protected areas within the framework of PAC´s 2012-2015 action plan. APN specialists in touristic management of protected areas are also expected to visit Guyana, he said.
Guyana and Argentina established diplomatic relations in 1972.