Post says Petrolifera caught in "Argentina sell-off"
Petrolifera Petroleum Ltd (C:PDP)
Shares Issued 50,119,010
Last Close 11/19/2007 $10.60
Tuesday November 20 2007 - In the News
The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that a handful of Canadian oil and gas explorers were caught in an "Argentina sell-off" Monday and Petrolifera Petroleum threatened to pull investment from the country due to a new crude oil export tax.
The Post's Jon Harding says the Calgary firm said the tax, which took effect in January as a temporary emergency measure to encourage greater domestic supplies of oil and refined products, essentially caps the sale price of Petrolifera's crude oil production in Argentina at $42 (U.S.) a barrel. The government signalled on Friday the higher tax will stay in place. Petrolifera said the tax will reduce net earnings from operations by 8 per cent, on assumed production of 10,000 barrels of oil a day.
As a result, it said it will re-examine a 2008 capital spending program set only a week ago at $140-million. "The tax is a means of effectively having the oil company subsidize the consumption price in Argentina," said Richard Gusella, Petrolifera's executive chairman.
Petrolifera sold its Argentine oil production through the first nine months of the year at around $46 (U.S.) a barrel. Petrofilia's shares dropped $2.36 to a 12-month low of $10.60.
