Argentine energy company YPF will resume operations at its oilfields in the Patagonia region after workers agreed to end a strike that lasted more than two weeks, the company said on Saturday, according to Reuters. The labor dispute forced YPF, a unit of Spain's Repsol, to halt operations at several sites in the Patagonian provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz, putting fuel supplies at risk in the South American country. "The conflict with the union ... has been resolved, which will allow us to slowly resume operations in Chubut and Santa Cruz after 17 days of a strike," YPF said in a statement. YPF's senior employees in the two provinces had staged the walkout to press for higher wages. The company said that through the mediation of the Labor Ministry a deal was reached with the union that could eventually lead to a wage increase. YPF said violent incidents involving striking workers had forced it to halt operations. The protesters blockaded a crude oil storage facility used by other energy companies, including U.S.-based Exxon Mobil's local unit Esso, which had to reduce refining activity. About a third of the 250,000 barrels of oil per day produced by YPF, Argentina's largest energy company, come from the fields affected by the dispute.
