Argentina's YPF CEO announces $7B investment plan
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The chief executive of the newly state-controlled Argentine energy company YPF has announced an ambitious five-year plan.
CEO Miguel Galuccio says YPF will invest up to $7 billion annually to expand exploration and boost production.
He says Argentina's biggest energy firm is expected to grow 6 percent annually, with 1,000 wells drilled beginning next year. That would be the biggest expansion since 1996, before YPF was privatized.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Argentina's center-left government expropriated YPF by seizing a majority stake from Spain's Repsol seven weeks ago. It contends Repsol didn't invest enough to raise production even though Argentina potentially has the world's third-largest reserves of unconventional oil and natural gas.
Galuccio says YPF will look for both local and international partners to finance exploration.