14.11.08 - 10:07 -
Antonio Brufau said that Respol would remain Spanish. EFE / Javier Cebollada
Commenting on word that Russia's Gazprom is mulling the purchase of a 20 percent stake in Repsol-YPF, CEO Antonio Brufau said on Thursday that the oil company will remain "private, independent and Spanish."
The news about the state-controlled energy giant's interest in acquiring a piece of Repsol came on Wednesday from Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov.
He said that Gazprom may seek to purchase Spanish builder Sacyr Vallehermoso's 20 percent stake in Repsol.
Sacyr, which has been hard hit by Spain's severe housing downturn, announced two months ago that it might sell some assets, including its Repsol's shares, currently valued at $4.53 billion.
"Repsol has to collaborate with all its shareholders, but there is a series of premises that, above all, must be respected: continuing to be a private, independent and Spanish enterprise," Brufau said on Thursday in Zaragoza.
He said that he would be "delighted" to give his opinion on the possible transaction if approached by Sacyr's president, Luis del Rivero.
Brufau added that he would cooperate with Del Rivero to achieve Sacyr's objectives, but "without renouncing" those of Repsol.
In any case, the CEO said, Repsol must focus on "producing significant results such as those published today, continuing with the strategic plan and doing things well."
Repsol-YPF announced a profit of nearly $2.82 billion euros for the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 15 percent over the same period in 2007.
Speaking at the same event in Zaragoza, Repsol operations director Miguel Martínez told analysts that a consortium including his firm, British Gas and Brazilian state oil company Petrobras plans to begin drilling nine wells in promising fields off Brazil's Atlantic coast.
Russia's Zhukov mentioned Gazprom's interest in Repsol when asked at a press conference in Moscow about the possibility of joint venture natural gas projects involving Russian and Spanish companies.
The deputy premier said nothing had been finalized yet, but that talks have been held among Gazprom, Repsol and Spanish utility Iberdrola about supplying liquefied natural gas to third countries.
