Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli announced Thursday there was oil in the Darien jungle and he planned to expand the mining industry in Panama while protecting the environment.
The Brazilian government accepted bids Tuesday to build what would be the world’s third-largest hydroelectric dam in the Amazon. Officials proceeded with the auction immediately after a judge overturned another magistrate’s injunction blocking the tender and revoking the environmental permit for the 11,000 MW Belo Monte complex.
The Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, announced Friday its intention to increase its financing for renewable energy and climate-related projects to 3 billion US dollars a year by 2012.
Exxon-Mobil has completed an extended-reach well offshore southern California, which it claims is the world’s longest extended-reach well drilled from an existing offshore fixed platform drilling rig.
Rockhopper Exploration (AIM: RKH) has spudded its 100% owned Sea Lion 14/10-B exploration well in the Licence PL032 in the North Falkland Basin. Once drilling is complete, Sea Lion’s results will be eagerly anticipated among investors following the prospective Falkland oil and gas play.
Brazilian government managed energy giant Petrobras announced it acquired a 50% stake in an exploration block in Australia with significant natural gas potential. Petrobras acquired the stake from MEO Australia for 39 million USD.
Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said some 120 billion USD will be invested over the next seven years in the Orinoco Belt, which the U.S. Geological Survey says is the largest petroleum accumulation it has ever evaluated.
Russian President Dimitri Medvedev met with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to commemorate 125 years of bilateral relations between Argentina and Russia and to sign several cooperation agreements in different fields including helping Argentina to develop its nuclear program.
China's Sinopec will buy stakes in two Brazilian offshore blocks from state-run Petrobras, local media reported Wednesday, as part of a cooperation agreement to be signed during a visit by China's president to Brazil.
The first major top-level industry wide meeting of all leading players in the exploration of the Brazilian pre-salt oil fields will be taking place next in June in Rio de Janeiro.