Energy & Oil

• Friday, December 23rd 2016 - 05:42 UTC

  China ready to work with Argentina as Supreme Court halts constructions of two dams

  China is ready to to join forces with Argentina after the construction of two hydroelectric dams in the province of Santa Cruz was put on hold by the Supreme Court over environmental concerns, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

• Friday, December 23rd 2016 - 00:39 UTC

  Falklands' Sea Lion oil field development “break-even price is US$ 45/bbl”

  

  Rockhopper Exploration has issued an update on planning for Phase 1 of the Sea Lion oil field development in the offshore North Falkland basin. Operator Premier's latest estimate of capex to first oil is US$1.5 billion, with life of field costs (capex, opex, and lease) of around US$35/bbl for Phase 1.

• Friday, December 23rd 2016 - 00:25 UTC

  Greek present for Trump: Obama and Trudeau ban offshore oil and gas drilling in Atlantic and Arctic waters

  

  In the final stretch of his term President Barack Obama is implementing new environmental protections that stand to thwart Donald Trump's agenda on oil and gas extraction in ways that may prove difficult for the president-elect to roll back. The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it will place an indefinite ban on offshore oil and gas drilling across large swaths of Atlantic and Arctic waters.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2016 - 01:12 UTC

  Falklands' additional air link to South America has a target launch date: October 2017

  

  Argentina, United Kingdom and Falkland Islands representatives have agreed on a process for an additional air service to the Falklands, from either Brazil or Chile, with a target launch date of October 2017, and likewise will address scientific data exchange in relation to fish stocks in the South Atlantic, particularly regarding the migratory Illex stock.

• Saturday, December 17th 2016 - 00:24 UTC

  Petrobras sells ethanol assets as it moves out of the biofuels industry

  

  Brazil's oil company Petrobras has agreed to sell its 49% stake in the sugar and ethanol joint venture Nova Fronteira Bioenergia SA to partner São Martinho SA, both companies said in securities filings on Thursday. Petrobras will receive 24 million new São Martinho shares as payment for the stake. Petrobras said in the filing that it will attribute a US$133 million value to the deal.

• Wednesday, December 14th 2016 - 05:10 UTC

  Trump challenges Congress and nominates close friend of Putin, Rex Tillerson Secretary of State

  

  Donald Trump officially announced his plan Tuesday to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, a pick that could pose complications in the confirmation process due to Tillerson's ties to Russia. Tillerson, 64, has no government or diplomatic experience but has done extensive work overseas on behalf of his petroleum company.

• Sunday, December 11th 2016 - 21:13 UTC

  Petrobras ordered to temporarily suspend divestiture program; court wants to review asset sales

  

  Brazil's federal auditing court (TCU) asked state-controlled oil company Petrobras to temporarily suspend its divestiture program while the court reviews asset sales procedures. The decision could delay Petrobras efforts to raise US$15.1 billion from asset sales by the end of 2016 as a way to reduce its huge debt -- the largest in the global oil industry.

• Thursday, December 8th 2016 - 19:01 UTC

  Russia sells 19.5% of Rosneft - ‘biggest privatization deal of 2016,’ says Putin

  

  Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled the sale of 19.5% of state-owned oil giant Rosneft's shares to the natural resource trader Glencore International and a Qatari sovereign wealth fund for over $11 billion was “the biggest sale and acquisition in the world’s oil and gas sector in 2016,” the official Kremlin website reported Wednesday.

• Thursday, December 1st 2016 - 15:30 UTC

  Russia ready to do its part as OPEC countries agree on oil output cut

  

  As the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has reached a deal among all 14 members to cut oil production for the first time since 2008, Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said his country was ready to do its part by reducing 300,000 barrels per day in the first half of 2017, provided OPEC adheres to the level of 32.5 mln barrels daily adjusted for Indonesia and on condition of maximum reciprocity from other non-OPEC countries. Russia is not an OPEC member.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2016 - 09:31 UTC

  Temer signs bill that opens sub-salt oil deposits to private the sector

  

  Brazilian president Michel Temer signed legislation on Tuesday which opens the way for oil companies other than state-controlled Petrobras to operate the coveted sub-salt acreage. The bill repeals a controversial 2010 rule that requires Petrobras to hold a minimum 30% operating stake in assets governed by production-sharing contracts, mainly sub-salt assets.