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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, August 4th 2026 - 04:53 UTC

Energy & Oil

  • Sunday, March 31st 2019 - 17:07 UTC

    Venezuela suffers the fifth mass blackout of the month

    Only 33% of the South American country had electricity service on Sunday morning and 15% was online

    A new massive blackout was recorded this weekend in Venezuela after a nationwide interruption of electricity service this Friday, which was slowly restored in main cities as Caracas. However, a new relapse of the supply occurred on Saturday night, affecting 16 states of the country - more than half.

  • Saturday, March 30th 2019 - 08:15 UTC

    Argentina election year: Macri increases spending on energy subsidies

    Authorities plan to increase gas prices for consumers in stages: 10% in April, 9.1% in May and 7.5% in June, but also a discount of around 22% starting from June

    Argentina will increase spending on energy subsidies by more than US$ 100 million this year to compensate gas companies hit by delayed domestic price increases, a source at the nation's energy secretariat said.

  • Thursday, March 28th 2019 - 09:01 UTC

    Venezuela has ceased to supply power to a Brazilian northern state

    Venezuela broke its contract with Eletronorte, energy minister Albuquerque told a Congressional hearing

    Brazil Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said that Venezuela had not complied with its contract to supply the northern state of Roraima with energy since March 7. Roraima is a neighbor of Venezuela and an international bridge has become an escape way for thousands of Venezuelans fleeing from the Nicola Maduro regime and the lack of food and medicines.

  • 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.