Shell Takes on Kirchner’s Argentine Fuel Price Ban in Federal Court Battle

[Judi Lynn]

Shell Takes on Kirchner’s Argentine Fuel Price Ban in Federal Court Battle
By Eliana Raszewski and Rodrigo Orihuela
Posted on Aug. 20, 2010
From Bloomberg

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which refines about 15 percent of Argentina’s fuel, is waging a court battle against a government ban that prevents fuel producers from increasing prices in the South American country.

Shell’s federal court complaint was filed yesterday following a government order on Aug. 18 mandating oil companies to lower fuel prices to a pre-Aug. 1 level, the Court Information Center said on its website. Gasoline prices in Argentina rose about 21 percent in the first half of 2010, according to data compiled by Montamat & Asociados, a Buenos Aires-based energy research company.

“Over the past year fuel prices have had continuous increases, which have had a negative impact on different sectors of the economy,” the government resolution said. Controlling fuel prices is a “key component in the government’s objective to ensure economic growth.”

Shell and the Argentine government have battled over fuel prices in the last few years. In 2005, then-President Nestor Kirchner asked consumers to boycott Shell for raising prices. In 2007, the government closed a Shell refinery because of alleged environmental concerns. A year later, the government banned Shell from exporting refined fuel. The ban lasted about a month, until Shell reduced its fuel prices.

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http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm/5020/Shell-Takes-on-Kirchners-Argentine-Fuel-Price-Ban-in-Federal-Court-Battle