Get our news on your inbox! x

Remember me Forgot password

MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, June 4th 2025 - 17:45 UTC

Energy & Oil

  • Wednesday, March 27th 2019 - 07:01 UTC

    Venezuelan workers sent home and schools closed because of the blackout

    Power had returned to many parts of Caracas by noon on Tuesday, but businesses remained idle and few pedestrians were walking the streets

    Venezuela's government told workers and school children to stay home on Tuesday as the second major blackout this month left the streets of Caracas mostly empty and residents wondering how long power would be out amid a deepening economic crisis.

  • Tuesday, March 26th 2019 - 08:48 UTC

    Another blackout in Venezuela: government blames “attack” on the power system

    Power went out in much of Caracas and nearly a dozen states in the early afternoon, stirring memories of a week-long outage earlier in the month

    
Venezuela blamed an “attack” on its electric system for a blackout on Monday, the second to hit the OPEC nation this month, that shuttered businesses, plunged the main airport into darkness and left commuters stranded in the capital. Power went out in much of Caracas and nearly a dozen states in the early afternoon, stirring memories of a week-long outage earlier in the month that was the most severe in the country's history.

  • Saturday, March 23rd 2019 - 09:02 UTC

    Petrobras reviewing a deal with China's CNPC to build an oil refinery

    Petrobras signed in October an agreement with CNPC to carry out a feasibility study to assess the investment case for the COMPERJ refinery in Brazil

    Brazil's Petrobras is re-evaluating a preliminary deal with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to build an oil refinery in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian economic newspaper Valor Economico reported on Thursday, citing a source from Petrobras’ management.

  • Thursday, March 21st 2019 - 14:41 UTC

    Brazil: Former President Michel Temer is arrested

    The former president is being investigated under the largest operation to combat corruption in the Brazil’s history, Lava Jato (Car Wash)<br />

    Former Brazilian President Michel Temer was arrested on Thursday on corruption charges, a dramatic development in a sprawling corruption probe that has roiled Brazil has showed no sign of slowing.

  • Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 09:14 UTC

    Brazil: convoy with nuclear fuel came under fire; police escort repel attack

    Eletronuclear, the Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA subsidiary that manages the Angra nuclear plants, said that the uranium being transported was not dangerous

    Armed men shot at members of a convoy transporting uranium to one of Brazil’s two working nuclear power plants on a coastal road in Rio de Janeiro state on Tuesday, police and the company managing the plant said.

  • Tuesday, March 19th 2019 - 08:17 UTC

    
Brazil's Vale iron ore miner ordered to suspend operations in two more dams

    Vale has faced growing pressure to prove that its remaining dams are safe. The fatal disaster in the town of Brumadinho was the second of its kind in four years

    Brazilian court has ordered Vale SA, the world's largest iron ore miner, to suspend operations at two more dams, demanding that it prove the structures are stable. The court decision dated Friday is the latest in a series of orders forcing Vale to halt operations at various dams that contain the muddy detritus of mining operations after one such barrier collapsed in January, killing some 300 people.

  • Saturday, March 16th 2019 - 09:56 UTC

    China and Argentina resume talks for the construction of a nuclear power plant

    Argentina had hoped to announce an agreement on China-financed construction of Atucha III, during a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping last November

    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.

  • Saturday, March 16th 2019 - 09:21 UTC

    Venezuelan continued oil fallout presents a challenge for global markets, says IEA

    Venezuela's oil production has fallen from approximately 2.4 million bpd in 2015 to around 1.2m bpd, as of the latest figures in February

    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.

  • Thursday, March 14th 2019 - 09:12 UTC

    Union halts operations at Argentina's biggest gold mine

    “It is unlikely the work stoppage will materially impact the fundamental value of the mine,” analysts at Canaccord Genuity wrote in a note

    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.

  • Thursday, March 14th 2019 - 07:53 UTC

    Beijing offers to help Venezuela restore its power grid

    Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said China had noted reports that the power grid had gone down due to a hacking attack.

    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.