FYI

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Williams, Robert C.  
Sent:	Wednesday, March 28, 2001 2:25 PM
To:	Walls, Rob; Haedicke, Mark; Sanders, Richard; Derrick Jr., James
Cc:	Blaine, Michelle
Subject:	Argentina Stamp Tax

In response to a "test case" declaratory judgment lawsuit filed by TGS (with our input) over one year ago, the Supreme Court of Argentina today issued an order enjoining the province of Santa Cruz from enforcing its stamp tax levy pending a full hearing and ruling by the Court on the legality of the stamp tax.  Although this is not a ruling on the merits, it does indicate how the Supreme Court is leaning, at least for the present.  This is a very significant victory for TGS and, if the Court continues in this direction, will result in TGS being relieved of stamp tax liability (approximately $650 million).  A great deal of the credit for this goes to Michelle Blaine, who worked with the TGS lawyers on the filing.  Please call me or Michelle with any questions.