Argentina appoints board of nationalized YPF

The shareholders of Argentina's recently nationalized YPF oil company have elected a board of directors a month after the government seized the company from Spain's Repsol. Miguel Galuccio has been named CEO, with the state on Monday selecting 16 board members -- including Deputy Economy Minister Alex Kicillof, seen as the architect of the takeover -- and Repsol appointing just one. Of the 16 Argentina board members, 11 represent the federal government and five represent the country's main oil provinces. The appointments were made at the first shareholder meeting since the takeover of the country's largest oil company, which ignited a major row with Madrid and was widely criticized internationally. On May 3 Argentina's Congress approved the transfer of 51 percent of shares to the state, leaving Repsol with just 6.43 percent. However, Repsol gained voting rights on an additional six percent of shares that were put up as guarantees by Argentina's Petersen Group. Argentine President Cristina Kirchner justified the takeover by accusing the Spanish oil giant of failing to invest adequately in new production. Spain expressed fury over the takeover, and last month Repsol filed a class action suit against Argentina in a New York court, arguing that the government failed to comply with YPF bylaws when it took over the company. Repsol has said it will seek at least $10 billion (7.9 billion euros) in compensation for its expropriated shares, as well as international arbitration to settle the claim. Argentina counters that Repsol is leaving a $9 billion debt, while in just over a decade it earned more than $15.7 billion, most of it sent overseas and not reinvested. YPF accounts for 34 percent of Argentina's domestic oil production, 25 percent of domestic gas production and 54 percent of domestic refining, according to the Argentine Oil Institute.