11/03/2010

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentine oil company YPF plans to import 50 million liters (13.2 million gallons) of gasoline because the nation’s demand can’t keep up with its supply, marking the first time in 30 years the country will purchase gas from another nation. “Everyone is putting less fuel on the market, except YPF,” Sergio Resumil, the company’s director of communications, said. Resumil said the purchase by YPF, the Argentine subsidiary of Spain’s Repsol, translates to a little more than a 30-day supply. He also said his company had obtained a 56% share of the market because it offered gas at the lowest price, but the company no longer has enough of its product to meet demand. In Argentina, the price of fuel is open to government control. “There is gas and there is fuel,” Resumil said. “People just have to have a little patience.” [EFE (Argentina), 03/09/2010; Elpaís.com (Argentina), 03/10/2010; Latin American Herald Tribune (Argentina), 03/09/2010]