No impact from Argentina oil move on EU ties: Brazil, Chile

Brazil and Chile on Wednesday ruled out any impact from Argentina’s plan to take over a subsidiary of Spanish oil giant Repsol on ties between other South American countries and the European Union.

Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno and his Brazilian counterpart Antonio Patriota also told a joint conference here that the move was a sovereign and internal decision by Buenos Aires.

“It does not appear that this will have an impact on the rest of Latin America,” said Moreno, stressing that “any decision by a state must be in accordance with the law, with the international norms and rules.”

Meanwhile Patriota said Brazil was monitoring the situation and stressed that relations with Europe were “very good.”

“They (the Europeans) are a strategic partner, I have no reason to be concerned about this,” he added.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner’s government announced Monday that it would take over a 51 percent stake in YPF, the country’s biggest oil company, despite warnings from Spain and the European Union.

Repsol has demanded a fair price, valuing its 57.4-percent stake in YPF at $10.5 billion (8.0 billion euros).

Brazilian and Chilean firms have invested in Argentina’s oil sector and some of their concessions have been revoked by Argentine provincial authorities.

The two countries have been holding separate talks with the Kirchner government to assess the impact of the moves.