Energy & Oil

• Wednesday, August 12th 2015 - 08:06 UTC

  Brazil's subsalt could hold enough petroleum to supply the world five years

  

  Brazil's Subsalt Polygon, the offshore area that has already yielded some of the world's largest recent oil finds, may hold enough undiscovered petroleum and gas to supply the world's current oil needs for more than five years, researchers said.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2015 - 07:32 UTC

  Falklands' GDP dropped in 2013 because of lesser oil and gas activity

  

  The Falkland Islands Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropped in 2013 primarily due to lesser oil activity according to a recent Executive Council paper that included updated figures from the FIG Economist Commenting on the paper, according to a report from the latest edition of the Penguin News.

• Monday, August 10th 2015 - 06:46 UTC

  Global oil supply more fragile than you think

  

  Many oil companies had trimmed their budgets heading into 2015 to deal with lower oil prices. But the rebound in April and May to $60 per barrel from the mid-$40s suggested that the severe drop was merely temporary.

• Saturday, August 8th 2015 - 10:42 UTC

  Petrobras profits plunge 89% in 2Q; underperforming assets dumped

  

  Brazilian state-led oil company Petrobras said its second-quarter net income plunged 89% after a one-time charge for underperforming assets that caught analysts off guard. The 1.28-billion-real charge was taken as Petrobras' new executives and board of directors try to control the company's $132 billion debt, the oil-industry's largest, by preparing up to $15bn of assets for sale by the end of 2016.

• Saturday, August 8th 2015 - 10:28 UTC

  Shell planning to invest billions in Brazil, despite recent purchase of BG group

  

  Royal Dutch Shell is considering investing billions in Brazil, set to become a focal point after the planned acquisition of BG Group, even as it prepares to sell huge chunks of its business to pay for the $70bn deal.

• Friday, August 7th 2015 - 06:53 UTC

  YPF profits up, but no new joint-ventures in sight to develop Patagonia shale

  

  Argentina's state-managed energy firm YPF posted a second quarter net income of 2.297 billion pesos ($252.8 million) on Wednesday, a 50.5% increase on the same period last year. YPF earnings have been cushioned from the collapse of international oil prices by a government-controlled price for oil produced in the country, which sits at about $78 dollars per barrel.

• Friday, August 7th 2015 - 05:18 UTC

  Scottish lab identifies “super-algae” to make bio-fuels for vehicles and aircraft

  

  Researchers at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) have unlocked a treasure chest of ‘super-algae’ that could provide a previously untapped source of oil. Using a newly devised technique, scientists examined micro-algae strains in the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP), an internationally important algal store based at SAMS in Oban, to find out which ocean-based strains had the highest oil content.

• Wednesday, August 5th 2015 - 10:27 UTC

  BG announces first oil with FPSO vessel, 240kms off Rio de Janeiro coast

  

  BG Group announced first oil from the Cidade de Itaguaí floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, the sixth unit to start production across the group's discoveries in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The FPSO will produce from the Iracema North area of the Lula field in the Petrobras-operated BM-S-11 block.

• Wednesday, August 5th 2015 - 08:36 UTC

  Milestone for Peregrino field off Brazil: 100 million barrels of oil in four years

  

  After just four years in production, the Peregrino field in the Campos basin offshore Brazil has passed a significant milestone, with 100 million barrels of oil produced since April 2011. The field, jointly owned by Statoil and Chinese Sinochem, achieved the milestone on August 2.

• Tuesday, August 4th 2015 - 18:40 UTC

  US closer to lifting 40-year ban on oil and natural gas exports; bill needs Senate floor vote

  

  The United States is closer to begin exporting oil. The Senate Energy Committee passed a bill last week that would lift a decades-old ban on the export of crude oil. The 22-member panel approved the initiative to allow the US to export oil and boost state revenue-sharing for offshore oil and gas drilling by a vote of 12-10.