Energy & Oil

• Tuesday, November 24th 2015 - 14:53 UTC

  Summit of gas exporting countries opened in Tehran with nine leaders attending

  

  A landmark summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) has opened in the Iranian capital Tehran with the participation of the heads of nine member states. Presidents of Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Iraq, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Turkmenistan as well as the Algerian prime minister are the key participants.

• Saturday, November 21st 2015 - 08:01 UTC

  Petrobras back to normal activity as splinter union ends 20-day strike

  

  Earlier on Friday a key Petrobras workers union voted to end a 20-day strike that disrupted output. Workers at the Sindipetro Norte Fluminense local, who had ignored the largest oil workers' union FUP's call to end the strike that started on November first, will return to work Friday evening at onshore operations, union spokesman Tezeu Bezerra.

• Friday, November 20th 2015 - 07:36 UTC

  Brazil considering plan to bolster Petrobras capital with 'hybrid securities'

  

  Brazil’s government is considering a debt plan to bolster the capital of heavily indebted state-controlled oil Petrobras, Agencia Estado news agency reported on Thursday. Under the plan, the Brazilian Treasury would transfer so-called hybrid securities to Petrobras, which would then book the securities as equity until it sold new stock, Estado reported.

• Friday, November 20th 2015 - 05:48 UTC

  UK Export Finance extends US$ 500m credit to debt-strapped Petrobras

  

  Brazil's oil company Petrobras has concluded negotiations with international export credit agencies (ECAs) for a total of US$1.84bn. According to a company statement. The financing will contribute towards its fundraising efforts for 2016.

• Wednesday, November 18th 2015 - 08:22 UTC

  Petrobras splinter union refuses to end strike and calls members to abandon offshore vessels

  

  Brazilian oil workers union local responsible for the bulk of the country's oil and gas output told its members on Tuesday to abandon Petrobras vessels operating in the Campos Basin, Brazil's most productive oil district.

• Wednesday, November 18th 2015 - 08:05 UTC

  Statoil follows Shell and drops search for oil in the US Arctic

  

  Norway's Statoil has decided to quit its Alaskan exploration efforts in the Chukchi Sea, following a recent move by Shell to drop its search for oil in the US Arctic after a key drilling target came back dry.

• Friday, November 13th 2015 - 14:04 UTC

  Premier Oil defers project development and exploration spending into 2016

  

  The successful Falkland Islands' exploration company Premier Oil has cut full-year capital expenditure as the oil producer deferred some project development and exploration spending into 2016, it said on Thursday. Like its peers, Premier Oil has to reduce spending to cope with a halving in oil prices since a peak in June last year that has eaten into revenues.

• Friday, November 13th 2015 - 10:56 UTC

  WTI oil falls below US$ 42; millions of barrels held in ships at sea

  

  Oil prices were testing fresh lows on Thursday, with a report that 100 million barrels of crude and heavy oil products are being held in ships at sea. West Texas Intermediate oil, the main North American contract, fell below $42 US a barrel, amid predictions that it would fall to the $20-30 level next year.

• Friday, November 13th 2015 - 09:23 UTC

  Mine disaster: Brazil fines BHP Billiton and Vale; expects companies to pay cleanup costs

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has slapped preliminary fines worth 250 million Reais ($94 million) against a BHP Billiton-Value owned mine in Minas Gerais state where two dams burst, killing at least seven people.

• Friday, November 13th 2015 - 09:10 UTC

  Petrobras reports huge 3Q losses: sharp devaluation of the currency blamed

  

  Brazil's scandal-plagued state oil giant Petrobras on Thursday announced third-quarter losses of about US$ 1 billion, mainly due to the sharp devaluation of the Brazilian currency.Petrobras, mired in a hugely damaging scandal involving bribes and high-level political payoffs, posted losses of 3.76 billion Reais in the quarter, compared with a loss of 5.3 billion Reais a year earlier.