Spain and Argentina have collided. The Argentine government, led by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, muddied the waters yesterday and didn't bother clearing up the situation with Repsol in order to appease the Spanish government.
Kirchner was expected to announce her decision to take control over the YPF subsidiary at midnight (Spanish time), but after a morning meeting with YPF president Antonio Brufau and the Minister of City Planning Julio de Vido, it was agreed that Kirchner would no longer participate in the meeting between the provincial petroleum companies, Ofephi.
When it looked like everything had calmed down, after Minister of Industry José Manuel Soria made his warning, the daily newspaper Clarin, which is hardly aligned with Kirchner, assured that the Casa Rosada has submitted to Congress a project that would prove "useful to the country and subject up to 50.01% of YPF's Class D shares to expropriation." At this time the shares belong to Repsol and their Argentine partners Grupo Peterson, which is owned by the Eskenazi family.
