The chairman of Spanish oil major Repsol said in an interview that the company hopes to arrive at an agreement with the Argentinean government for the nationalization of Repsol subsidiary YPF in April.

Chairman Antonio Brufau told the El Pais newspaper, "I still believe and hope that we can reach an agreement over YPF. I hope we can reach an agreement to compensate us for that which belonged to us."

Argentina seized control of YPF after accusing Repsol of not investing enough in the unit, and forcing the country to rely too heavily on costly fuel imports.

Repsol filed suit against Argentina in May to recover more than $10 billion in assets. The resolution of the suit, which was filed with the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), could take years, according to experts.

"We will go to the ICSID when we see best, but we can withdraw the request if agreement is reached," Brufau noted.