Argentina's congress is set to approve the country's takeover of the Spanish-owned YPF oil company, with legislators debating whether to make further state interventions in the state's energy sector.
Deputies in congress will debate the law on Thursday, which includes the expropriation of Spanish energy company Repsol's $10.5bn controlling stake in the oil company.
If passed, Argentina's new state policy will be that energy self-sufficiency is more important than profits for any oil or gas companies operating in the country.
Spain has threatened to retaliate against the so-far-uncompensated takeover of YPF, and the Moody's rating agency has said that trading with Argentina is now riskier than before.
Argentine policy makers, however, have brushed off concerns, and more than three-fourths of lawmakers are expected to approve the law during Thursday's vote.
Energy self-sufficiency
President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, a combative career politician who has tightened state control of the economy, unveiled the plan to take over YPF from Repsol six months after her landslide re-election last year.
Kirchner's party controls both houses of parliament, and has she has already secured strong backing for the move from the upper house last week.
Agustin Rossi, head of the ruling party bloc in the lower house, said he thought about 200 of the house's 257 members would vote for the government bill, heralding it as a watershed in the country's energy policy.
"We're going to see a big improvement and a big difference [although] it's probably going to take a few years for us to achieve energy self-sufficiency," Rossi said.
"This isn't just about YPF, [all companies] will have to keep in mind that their business is a matter of public interest
and the aim is self-sufficiency," he added.
Compensation sought
Kirchner has justified the renationalisation of YPF, which was privatised in the 1990s, on the grounds of low investment in boosting oil and natural gas production.
The lack of growth in production has slowed overall economic growth in Latin America's third-largest economy.
Repsol denies that there has been under-investment.
Once Kirchner signs the YPF bill into law, attention will turn to how much compensation Argentina will pay Repsol.
Officials say it will be less than the $9.3bn the Spanish company wants.
Al Jazeera