
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com - Say what you will about offshore oil and gas exploration, but it's still alive and kicking—high production costs and all. The latest demonstration of the viability of deepwater projects, even in the post-2014 oil industry era, comes from none other than Brazil.

A senior official in Brazil said there are no current plans to privatize the national oil company to deal with its massive debt, according to a new report by Reuters. Fernando Coelho Filho, the minister of mines and energy, had suggested that Petrobras could face such a sale in the future, but did not provide a concrete timeline.

The government of Argentina is planning to suspend a price-setting system for domestic fuel sales next month thanks to the recent rise in global oil prices, the country’s energy and mining minister said Monday.

Hurricane Maria has knocked out power to the entire island of Puerto Rico, home to 3.5m people, emergency officials have said. Abner Gomez, head of the disaster management agency, said none of the customers of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority had any electricity.

Petrobras raised US$2 billion from the sale of seven- and 10-year securities, replacing more expensive shorter-dated bonds as it seeks to trim a debt burden that is the largest among major oil firms. Petrobras sold US$1 billion each worth of senior unsecured bonds due in 2025 and 2028, respectively. Market experts said Petrobras sold the January 2025 bond at a yield of 5.3%, and the January 2028 bond at 6%.

Searcher Seismic has made its entry into Argentina with four new multi-client projects. Beginning in phases, the first phase comprises of an offshore basin analysis report providing a regional framework to understand the offshore basins of Argentina, assisting industry’s exploration efforts.

Venezuela published the price of its oil and fuel in Chinese currency on Friday in what it called an effort to free the socialist-run country from the “tyranny of the dollar,” echoing a plan recently announced by President Nicolas Maduro.

The Falkland Islands Department of Mineral Resources is carrying out a public consultation on a range of proposed legislative measures applying to the offshore oil and gas industry.

British Petroleum has agreed with Argentina's Bridas Corporation to form a new integrated energy company by combining their interests in the oil and gas producer Pan American Energy and the refiner and marketer Axion Energy in a cash-free transaction. The new company, Pan American Energy Group, will be the largest privately-owned integrated energy company operating in Argentina.

Oil and gas business Rockhopper Exploration said on Thursday that its primary focus for the remainder of the financial year was to further progress funding proposals aimed at sanctioning its Sea Lion field project in the Falkland Islands by the end of 2018.