Spanish oil company Repsol says it has made the first step in taking legal action against Argentina for nationalizing its energy firm YPF.
In a statement Tuesday, Repsol YPF SA said it had sent a letter to Argentine President Cristina Kirchner notifying her that it sees a controversy in the seizure of YPF which should be resolved by the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Repsol said the notification represented the formal start of legal action to have the nationalization declared illegal and Argentina obliged to reverse the decision and, or, compensate for it.
Repsol said both sides had six months to negotiate a solution before petitioning arbitration by the World Bank agency.
The Spanish government has threatened to retaliate for the so-far-uncompensated takeover.
