MEXICO CITY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The chief executive ofMexico's state-run oil monopoly Pemex on Wednesdaycriticized the compensation paid to the chairman of Spain'sRepsol as excessive, amid a tussle over the handling ofa dispute involving Argentina.
Emilio Lozoya, CEO of Pemex - which has a 9.4 percent stakein Repsol - also told Mexico's Congress that the oil giant wasnot looking to tie up with Mexican billionaire tycoon CarlosSlim in a bid to oust Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau.
Argentina seized Repsol's majority stake in BuenosAires-based energy firm YPF last year, arguing it hadnot done enough to invest in output.
Since then, Repsol has vowed to sue any firm that partnerswith YPF to cover losses stemming from the expropriation, whichit says merits a $10.5 billion reimbursement. Pemex hasdisagreed with Repsol's strategy.
The Mexican oil monopoly has had talks about the prospect ofexploiting the vast Vaca Muerta shale field owned by YPF as partof its bid to work on projects outside Mexico, stokingdifferences between Pemex and Repsol.
Pemex has in the past threatened to sell out of Repsol dueto differences with Brufau.
"Our criticism has been about the compensation .. of theadministration," Lozoya told a Congressional hearing.
Brufau was paid more than 7 million euros ($9.42 million) in2012, making him one of Spain's highest-paid executives,including retirement payments of 2.7 million euros which he hassaid he will renounce in the future.
Lozoya said a 22 million euro severance package for Brufaushould he leave Repsol was another example of excessivecompensation given the company's recent returns.
"This relationship between shareholder return andcompensation for the administration is completely outsideinternational norms," he added. Lozoya said Pemex's return onits stake in Repsol had been "zero" since Brufau took over.
Repsol declined to comment.
Repsol's shares have risen 12.8 percent since October 2004,when Brufau took over as CEO of Repsol. By comparison, the shareprice of Norway's Statoil rose 41.8 percent during the sameperiod while oil major BP has fallen 9.6 percent,according to Thomson Reuters data.
"All oil companies are different, so they are not easilycomparable," said David Shields, an independent oil analystbased in Mexico City.
"Who invests in Spanish companies when Spain is going downthe drain? That's what Pemex did," said Shields, noting Spain'sfeeble economic performance in recent years.
PROFITS VERSUS INVESTMENTS
But some investors want more profits to be returned toshareholders rather than invested in new exploration andproduction projects.
This was the main point of contention when Pemex teamed upwith shareholder Sacyr in a failed attempt to overthrowBrufau in 2011.
While Repsol has said it remains committed to investing innew projects, other European integrated oil majors have recentlypromised to control spending and put more cash in the pockets ofinvestors.
Repsol's production has risen 7 percent so far this year,outstripping an average 2-3 percent output growth for peers.
Pemex on Tuesday reiterated in a filing with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission that half of its stake inRepsol has been registered with "available for sale" status.
Separately, Spain's ABC newspaper reported on Tuesday thatPemex wanted Slim to buy a stake in Spain's Repsol to gain moresay on Repsol's board. Spokesmen for Slim and Pemex have deniedit.
In August, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed anenergy sector overhaul that seeks to lure billions of dollars inforeign and private investment to boost the country's oil andgas sector. It is the axis of a wider economic reform push thatspans telecoms to taxes.
Mexico's Congress is expected to vote on the energy reformbefore the end of the year.
