
A delegation from China will visit Argentina this month to discuss the construction of a nuclear power plant, signaling possible progress in a deal that could increase Beijing’s deepening influence in Argentina. Accordingly, the “technical team” from China would meet local suppliers about the long-stalled nuclear power plant project, reportedly worth up to US$8 billion.

A major advisor to energy producing nations has suggested that the continued fallout from Venezuela could present a challenge for global oil markets. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that crude supplies from Venezuela are at risk of falling sharply in the midst of an electricity crisis which has paralyzed the country recently.

A strike at Canadian Goldcorp Inc’s Cerro Negro mine in Argentina has forced a halt to operations, the company said on Tuesday, calling the union’s action at its biggest mine illegal. Mining activities stopped when the strike by the Asociacion Obrera Minera Argentina (AOMA) union began on March 8, and processing is also now halted as surface stockpiles have run out, Vancouver-headquartered Goldcorp said in a statement.

China offered on Wednesday to help Venezuela restore its power grid after President Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. counterpart Donald Trump of cyber “sabotage” that plunged the South American country into its worst blackout on record.

Colombia’s government announced it had signed two exploration and production contracts with Shell in offshore areas of the Caribbean Sea that will require the company to make initial investments of US$ 100 million.

Argentina’s efforts to boost its natural gas output and supply are progressing through new pipeline and transport projects and auctions, moves that are expected to balance the country’s production and demand, the energy secretary said on Monday.

Venezuela shut schools and suspended the workday on Friday as the worst blackout in decades paralyzed most of the troubled nation for a second day, spurring outrage among citizens already suffering from hyperinflation and a crippling recession.

Norway's US$ 1 trillion sovereign wealth fund is expected to sell some of its oil and gas holdings. The world's largest sovereign wealth fund owns US$ 37bn of shares in oil companies such as BP, Shell and France's Total.

UK-based oil and gas firm Premier Oil with interests in the Falkland Islands has announced its full-year results for 2018, reporting a post-tax profit hike to US$ 133.4m as a result of record production. These full-year results are a ‘return to profitability’ from 2017’s full-year loss of US$ 253.8m.

Most of Venezuela has been hit by a continuing electricity blackout that began on Thursday afternoon. The power cut plunged the capital Caracas into almost complete darkness during rush hour and has extended to the vast majority of the country.