Jorge Capitanich, Argentina’s Prime Minister, accused Royal Dutch Shell Plc of conspiring against country’s interest, El Universal said. That happened after the petrochemical giant boosted fuel prices at the local gas stations.
According to the premier, the fact that the company pushed up the prices amid the developing currency crisis is not a fluke. In his opinion, Shell always acts in its own interests, not for the Argentinians sake. In fact, the company wanted to gain short-term income as there was no dire necessity of raising gas prices.
Previously, Mr Capitanich alleged that Shell purchased almost $3 million in HSBC to inflate the U.S. dollar rate in Argentina. The Argentine peso was depreciated against dollar by more than 20%. The Shell representatives noted that the company had to take such a step as currency devaluation provoked a raise in the crude oil prices. “If our costs increase 23 percent and we increase our prices by 12 percent, could that be considered greediness?” Shell Argentina’s Chief Executive Officer Juan Jose Aranguren said.
That is not for the first time the government of Christina Fernandez, the current president of Argentina, is at loggerheads with an oil company. In 2012, there was a conflict over the nationalization of YPF, a daughter company of the Spanish energy Repsol. Buesnos Aires bought a 51% stake of YPF without paying compensation. At the end, the partied agreed on the amount of money the government owes to Repsol. The quotation has not been announced yet.
