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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 13th 2026 - 10:06 UTC

Energy & Oil

  • Thursday, July 9th 2026 - 16:52 UTC

    YPF plans to drill off Uruguay in 2027, says potential could top Vaca Muerta

    “This could be much bigger than Vaca Muerta, it could yield millions and millions of barrels of production,” the executive projected

    Argentina's state oil company YPF plans to begin exploratory drilling of an offshore block off the coast of Uruguay between late 2027 and early 2028, its chairman and chief executive, Horacio Marín, confirmed, saying the area holds potential that, if confirmed, could surpass the Vaca Muerta unconventional field.

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  • Saturday, June 27th 2026 - 09:43 UTC

    Repsol, Ecopetrol and 17 other oil firms cleared for Brazil's next pre-salt auction

    The ANP clarified that inclusion on the list does not mean the companies will submit bids

    Nineteen oil companies, among them Spain's Repsol and Colombia's Ecopetrol, have been cleared to bid in the upcoming auction of licenses to partner with the Brazilian State in the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the pre-salt, the country's main crude reserve. The list was released on Friday by the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), following its publication in the Official Gazette.

  • Monday, June 15th 2026 - 21:50 UTC

    Brazilian stocks slip as the US-Iran deal sinks oil prices and hits Petrobras

    The shares that lost the most value were those of the private oil firms Prio (-6.9%) and Petroreconcavo (-6.5%), also affected by the fall in crude

    São Paulo's stock exchange closed on Monday down 0.42%, dragged by the plunge of the state oil company Petrobras after the international crude price fell, linked to the preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran. The Ibovespa, the benchmark index of Latin America's main exchange, ended the session at 170,415 points.

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 23:12 UTC

    Venezuela hands Shell a license for the cross-border Loran gas field shared with Trinidad

    Rodríguez described the award as a “historic step,” recalling that the field had remained “without development” for 23 years

    Venezuela on Thursday granted the British company Shell a license for a first phase of exploration and exploitation of the Loran gas field, which has seven reservoirs, six of them transboundary with Trinidad and Tobago. The signing was led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez at Miraflores Palace, the seat of the Venezuelan government.

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 22:34 UTC

    Colombia's government confirms El Niño will be among the most intense since 1950

    In Colombia, El Niño tends to be associated with a decline in rainfall, which raises the risk of drought and energy rationing in a country that relies heavily on hydroelectric generation

    Colombia's Environment Ministry confirmed on Thursday that the El Niño phenomenon arrived about three months earlier than expected and that, if projections hold, it will be one of the “most intense recorded since 1950,” according to data from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam). The agency said the conditions associated with the phenomenon —which warms ocean waters above normal— are already present in the equatorial Pacific.

  • Friday, June 5th 2026 - 07:08 UTC

    Argentina warns it could 'fully exercise all actions' over Falklands oil drilling plans

    The Sea Lion field, north of the archipelago, is operated by Navitas, which holds 65% of the project, while Rockhopper, which discovered it, retains 35%

    Argentina's government warned that it could “fully exercise all” available actions over plans to develop an oil field near the Falkland Islands, in a fresh escalation of the sovereignty dispute. The Foreign Ministry declared the plans of Britain's Rockhopper Exploration “unlawful” and described that company and its Israeli partner, Navitas Petroleum, as “clandestine,” after the Sea Lion project moved from exploration into development.

  • Thursday, June 4th 2026 - 15:28 UTC

    Venezuela moves to open its power sector to private investment after years of blackouts

    The system, which prior to 2007 operated under a mixed and regionalized model, began to deteriorate due to a lack of maintenance and new investment

    Venezuela's National Assembly gave initial approval to a reform of the electricity law that opens the sector to private investment through long-term concessions, in an effort to reverse the collapse of a service battered by blackouts for two decades. The measure ends the monopoly held for more than 15 years by the state-owned National Electric Corporation (Corpoelec), though it still requires a second debate and final ratification in the coming days.

  • Tuesday, June 2nd 2026 - 10:50 UTC

    La Paz endures a month of blockades as food and fuel shortages deepen

    Drivers continue to line up for fuel. Photo: Francisco RIVEROS / @APGNoticiasBo

    La Paz has spent a month under blockade. The main roads into Bolivia's administrative capital have been cut for four weeks, and shortages of food and fuel worsen by the day. Frustration is mounting among residents: some demand the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz for failing to keep his campaign promises, while others call for a firm hand and the deployment of the army to lift the siege. Most agree that the president, who took office less than seven months ago, should have acted sooner, when the protests began.

  • Wednesday, May 27th 2026 - 02:00 UTC

    BP sacks its Chair over governance standards and conduct issues

    BP said the board unanimously decided that Manifold should no longer serve as chair or director regarding governance oversight that directors deemed unacceptable.

    Oil and gas media is reporting that oil giant BP has removed Chair Albert Manifold with immediate effect after the board cited serious concerns over governance standards, oversight, and conduct, appointing Ian Tyler as interim chair while it begins a search for a permanent replacement.

  • Thursday, May 21st 2026 - 06:59 UTC

    Falklands’ oil, in June upgrade begins in Asia to adapt Aoka Mizu FPSO to Sea Lion development needs

    Navitas has shifted upgrade work on the Aoka Mizu from the Middle East to Asia due to the conflict in Iran, adding about US$ 45 million to the development budget

    Rockhopper Exploration (AIM:RKH), has highlighted progress at the Sea Lion oil development in the North Falkland Basin, operated by Navitas Petroleum. The first two phases will use the Aoka Mizu FPSO with capacity of 55,000 barrels per day, while a new memorandum of understanding for a second FPSO could lift total capacity by a further 125,000 barrels per day, significantly expanding the project’s production potential if implemented.

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