The expropriation of the Argentine oil company YPF from Repsol, decided in 2012 by the then president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, is a never-ending story, but above all a story to astonish: the Argentine State was recently condemned by the American justice system to pay $16 billion to a group of investment funds, which is equivalent to three times the value of the company.

“It is a ruling that must be reviewed,” argued Pablo González, president of YPF. According to him, it benefits a “vulture fund” that “never generated a liter of oil in Argentina nor provided jobs.”

The story, however, is different.. In 2012, halfway through the second government of Fernández de Kirchner, now vice president, the Argentine State took over 51% of the shares of the oil company, then in the hands of the Spanish company Repsol.. Argentina disbursed 5,000 million dollars, but following the ruling of New York judge Loretta Preska, it will have to pay 1,500 million more dollars to the company chaired by Antonio Brufau.

Preska, judge of the Southern District Court of New York, ruled in favor of the funds Burford Capital and Eton Park, which years ago bought the rights to litigate against the Argentine State from the bankrupt Petersen Energía company.. The investment funds allege that, according to YPF's statutes, the Argentine State should have made an offer for the entire company, and not just for 51%.. Preska agreed with them.

The story is remarkably convoluted, at times difficult to believe: Petersen Energía belonged to the Eskenazi family, which in 2008 Repsol was forced to accept as a shareholder due to pressure from former president Néstor Kirchner. The Eskenazis, who had no experience in businesses linked to energy or oil, bought 25% of the oil company, but they did not do it with their own money.

With two companies created ad hoc in Spain -Petersen Energía and Petersen Inversora-, the Eskenazis paid half of the purchase with a loan from a consortium of banks led by Credit Suisse that had the shares they were going to buy as collateral.. The other half of the purchase – $1 billion – was lent to the Eskenazis by Repsol.. on account of the dividends they obtained from the exploitation of YPF.

In 2011, the Eskenazi added 10% more participation to reach 25.46% in total. The payment method was the same as the first time.. Thus, the family friend of the Kirchners kept a quarter of the main Argentine oil company without investing a dollar.

Daniel Montamat, former Secretary of Energy, estimated the current valuation of YPF at about $5 billion.. According to the iProfesional site, specialized in companies and businesses, “several law firms in New York are discussing an intricate process with links and ramifications of politicians, bankers and businessmen” so that “the Eskenazi family benefits from 30% of that payment.” ” of 16,000 million.

“The amount of about 4,000 million could be used to lift the bankruptcy of his companies in Spain and keep about 2,000 million dollars, which could be considered the biggest scam by a business group against the State in the entire history of Argentina and with little precedent in the world”.

The Eskenazi were very close to the Kirchner family. YPF is a symbol of the absence of State policies in Argentina. In just over 20 years, YPF was privatized, “Argentinized” and re-nationalized. All during Peronist governments: Carlos Menem sold it to Repsol in 1999 for 15 billion dollars and Fernández de Kirchner expropriated it 13 years later.

The Argentine Government has already announced that it will appeal the ruling, although the longer the time continues, the more the amount to be paid to compensate the investment funds will grow.. According to Gabriela Cerruti, spokesperson for the presidency, the government will defend “energy sovereignty” and YPF “against vulture funds.”

González criticized the opposition, which he accused of “celebrating” the ruling against the Argentine state. “It is part of a strategy that will seek, tomorrow, to privatize YPF again.”. And we are going to have the supply problems that Argentina had again.”

Amid the incredible YPF saga, oil and gas production is constantly increasing. Argentina already produces 673,000 barrels of oil per day and surpassed Colombia in terms of production in the region.

The specialized agency Bloomberg recently highlighted that, thanks to the boost from the Vaca Muerta Patagonian field, “oil production is growing at a double-digit rate, companies are bustling with new projects to increase exports and production of natural gas, and executives look to the upcoming presidential elections with high hopes that the business environment will improve.

“Some of the stocks most exposed to the hydrocarbon business in Argentina, such as national giant YPF SA and gas pipeline operator Transportadora Gas del Norte SA, have risen more than 300% in dollar terms in the last 12 months.”