Energy & Oil

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 10:08 UTC

  Russian bank freezes Venezuela's oil company accounts, fearing US sanctions

  

  Russian lender Gazprombank has frozen the accounts of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and halted transactions with the firm to reduce the risk of the bank falling under US sanctions, according to Reuters.

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:26 UTC

  Petrobras settling financial disputes: agrees to pay petroleum regulator US$ 940m

  

  Brazil state-run oil firm Petrobras said it had concluded a long-running dispute with the country’s ANP petroleum regulator, agreeing to pay 3.5 billion reais (US$ 940 million) to end an oil-royalty spat.

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 08:50 UTC

  Another Vale tailings dam in Brazil in collapse danger: 200 residents evacuated

  

  Around 200 residents were evacuated from an area near a tailings dam in Brazil operated by Vale SA late on Saturday, amid fears that it was structurally weak and could burst like a similar barrier failure last month that killed some 300 people.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 10:26 UTC

  Brazil arrests eight officials from mining giant Vale over the dam collapse

  

  Brazilian authorities arrested eight employees of mining giant Vale on Friday over a dam collapse at one of its mines three weeks ago that killed at least 166 people and left 147 missing, presumed dead.

• Friday, February 15th 2019 - 07:21 UTC

  “Venezuela should honor its debts obligations”, Russia reminds Maduro

  

  Venezuela should honour its debt obligations to Russia despite the political situation in Caracas, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday. ”Russia hopes that Venezuela, even in case of a change of power in the country, will fulfil its obligations under the debt to Russia, Siluanov told reporters on the sidelines of the Russian Investment Forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

• Thursday, February 14th 2019 - 10:03 UTC

  Global commodity trading firms investigated in Switzerland and by the FBI

  

  Pressure is growing on global commodity trading firms with strong ties to Switzerland for their alleged involvement in the “Car Wash” corruption scandal in Brazil. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating two Vitol executives in the Americas, according to Reuters news agency.

• Thursday, February 14th 2019 - 09:37 UTC

  Chevron will remain in Venezuela in “coordination with US government agencies”

  

  Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth pledged to work closely with the U.S. to remain in Venezuela despite a spiralling crisis that has led rival oil major Total SA to retreat.

• Wednesday, February 13th 2019 - 09:12 UTC

  NGOs demand Brazilian miner Vale be excluded from UN's corporate responsibility pact

  

  A group of international non-governmental organizations on Tuesday demanded that Brazilian miner Vale SA be excluded from the United Nations' corporate responsibility pact, after a mining dam burst that killed an estimated 300 people.

• Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 10:25 UTC

  Growing evidence shows Vale was made aware of dam's rupture risk

  

  Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore miner, knew last year that the dam in Brazil that collapsed in January and killed at least 165 people had a heightened risk of rupturing, according to an internal document, Reuters reported on Monday

• Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:24 UTC

  China iron ore futures soar on concerns over the Vale tragedy in Brazil

  

  China iron ore futures rose to a record on Monday, the first session after a week-long national holiday, on concerns that supply from Brazil, the country’s second-largest ore supplier, may decline after a fatal dam accident at a Vale mine.