MADRID--Argentina's parliament Thursday approved a deal that
would compensate Spain's Repsol SA for the expropriation of its
local unit two years ago, the Spanish oil company said in an
emailed statement.
The terms of the deal, in which Argentina would compensate
Repsol with bonds worth around $5 billion, were negotiated during
several months starting in late 2013.
The parliamentary approval ends a two-year conflict that flared
up following the nationalization.
Argentina expropriated the majority of YPF SA, the country's
largest oil and gas company, in April 2012. Since then, the country
has struggled to attract foreign investment to raise output from
its huge hydrocarbon reserves. Argentine officials have said they
expect the end of the tussle with Repsol to help ease the entry of
foreign investment into its oil and gas sector.
For Repsol, Argentina's approval seals a two-year saga that
threatened the company's investment-grade credit rating and forced
the company to sell assets and trim its dividend payout to cut
debt. Repsol executives have said they're interested in acquiring
oil assets in developed countries, and analysts expect the Spanish
company to sell the Argentine government bonds relatively quickly
to free up cash for possible deals.
Write to Ilan Brat at ilan.brat@wsj.com
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