Energy & Oil

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 17:26 UTC

  Brazilian automobile industry, still strong, begins to feel the tight money pinch

  

  Automobile production in Brazil fell 4.9% and sales dropped 5.5% in April from March, the national automakers' association said on Friday.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 17:24 UTC

  Top US grain processors join the ‘bio-fuel refineries rush’ in Brazil

  Cargill Inc and the world’s largest grain processor Archer-Daniels-Midland Co, are planning to invest about 560 million US dollars in new bio-fuel refineries in Brazil.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 17:21 UTC

  US payrolls expanded in April, but jobless rate climbed to 9%

  United States employers in April added more jobs than forecast. Payrolls expanded by 244,000 last month, the biggest gain since May 2010, after a revised 221,000 increase the prior month, the Labour Department said Friday in Washington.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 07:20 UTC

  Falklands’ oil companies contract more sophisticated exploration rig

  

  Borders and Southern Petroleum PLC licensed for oil exploration in the Falkland Islands announced Friday the signing of a new rig contract with Ocean Rig under which the Eirik Raude has been replaced by the Leiv Eiriksson.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 02:36 UTC

  US jobs market remains soft and unemployment claims rose in April

  

  The number of claims for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, pushed up by auto-plant shutdowns and other unusual events that seasonal variations failed to take into account, the Labour Department said.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 01:42 UTC

  Boosted by bio-fuels Brazil increases soy bean and oil processing-refining capacity

  

  Brazil’s soy bean processing volume increased 7% in 2010 over 2009 while at the same time reducing idle capacity given the larger crop and a jump in the production of bio fuels, according to a release from Abiove, (Brazilian association of vegetable oil industries).

• Thursday, May 5th 2011 - 01:57 UTC

  Argentine group buys 10% of YPF, now holds 25.46% of the company

  

  Argentina's Eskenazi family has agreed to pay 1.3 billion US dollars to buy an additional 10% in YPF, the Argentine unit of Repsol, the Spanish oil company said on Wednesday.

• Tuesday, May 3rd 2011 - 23:04 UTC

  Falklands oil company spuds new well and has four more lined up

  

  Rockhopper Exploration has spudded the next appraisal well on the Sea Lion oil discovery in the Falkland Islands’ waters. Drilling began on the 14/10-5 appraisal well on May first 2011.

• Tuesday, May 3rd 2011 - 22:56 UTC

  Argos confirms it is closer to starting an oil drilling campaign in Falklands’ waters

  

  Argos Resources is a step closer to starting a drill campaign in Falkland Islands waters, where it is targeting a high priority area adjacent to Rockhopper’s Sea Lion discovery.

• Tuesday, May 3rd 2011 - 17:08 UTC

  Petrobras earmarks 73 billion USD for investment in Santos pre-salt basin

  

  Petrobras announced the increased investment plans for the emerging Santos basin pre-salt assets, earmarking 73 billion US dollars for the 2011-2015 period. The vast sum is a 63% increase compared with the company’s 2010-2014 plan said a company statement.