Spanish oil company Repsol will seek punitive damages from Argentina for the seizure of its Argentine energy unit YPF, its chairman warned, in a move backed by fuming shareholders.
Fresh demands would raise the stakes in a potentially long legal battle. Repsol has already sued Argentina for $10 billion in compensation over the seizure of its majority stake in YPF in mid-April, in a case that could drag on for years.
"This was an act of piracy," Repsol shareholder Rafael Gonzalez said at the company's annual meeting in Madrid, pleading with Chairman Antonio Brufau to keep up the fight against Argentina.
Repsol has also taken steps to file a complaint at the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
"I've been getting rid of my Repsol shares because year after year it's just another bad excuse for the share price decline. The oil crisis, Argentina ... Tomorrow it will be an earthquake," shareholder Elena Martinez said.
Repsol unveiled a four-year strategic plan earlier this week, pledging heavy investment in its exploration business in a bid to recover from the blow of the loss of YPF.
The company still owns 6 percent of YPF and now holds the voting rights on another 6 percent of the company that had been put up as guarantees from fellow YPF shareholder, the Petersen Group.
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