Argentina: Expropriation of the Spanish participation of Repsol on the oil companies YPF S.A. Gas and Repsol YPF S.A.
Description
On May 7, 2012, the Presidency of Argentina enacted the Law 26.741 that expropriates the assets that the Spanish petroleum company Repsol had on YPF S.A. Gas and Repsol YPF S.A.
The Argentinean legislation provides that the National Executive shall determine the national policy concerning exploitation, industrialization, transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons, with the main objective of meeting the needs of the country, its deposits, and reserves. In addition, it establishes that permit holders and licensees will have control over the extracted hydrocarbons and, consequently, may transport, commercialize and industrialize their products, in compliance with the regulations issued by the National Executive on technical grounds.
The Law 26.741 stipulates that the expropriated shares, that used to be owned by the Spanish company Repsol, would be distributed as follows: 51% will go to the National State and the remaining 49% will be distributed among the provinces that are members of the Federal Organization of Oil Producing States.
Given the enactment of Law 26.741, the National Executive will be able to exercise all the rights that the expropriation conferred. This implies that the Executive and the designated auditor of YPF S.A. will take control of the oil companies and its resources.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered: 07/05/2012
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 7 May 2012
GTA Evaluation: Red
Source:
Ley 26.741 available at: http://www.iqom.com.mx/documents/0512/Ley%2026.741.doc
Government Response:
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