Caixabank, a key shareholder in Spanish oil giant Repsol, is exploring avenues to seek compensation for the expropriation of the national oil company YPF. Repsol owns 51% of YPF before Argentine President Cristina Fenandez announced the seizure of the Repsol interest on the grounds that the company had not invested enough in Argentina, leading to the decline of local oil production and exploration for the country.
Caixabank owns 12.5% of Repsol had broached the idea but no formal discussions or even feelers have been sent or received between Repsol and the Fernandez government. Rumors of a discussion between the Argentine President and the Caixabank Chairman caused YPF shares to jump by 2.86%. At the same time Repsol values increased by 1.89% and Caixabank rose 0.75% at market close.
Repsol has already filed a claim with the World Bank's arbitration body known as ICSID last December to return the shares. The oil company claims that the confiscation had violated the Spain-Argentina investment treaty.
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