Energy & Oil

• Saturday, August 8th 2015 - 10:28 UTC

  Shell planning to invest billions in Brazil, despite recent purchase of BG group

  

  Royal Dutch Shell is considering investing billions in Brazil, set to become a focal point after the planned acquisition of BG Group, even as it prepares to sell huge chunks of its business to pay for the $70bn deal.

• Friday, August 7th 2015 - 06:53 UTC

  YPF profits up, but no new joint-ventures in sight to develop Patagonia shale

  

  Argentina's state-managed energy firm YPF posted a second quarter net income of 2.297 billion pesos ($252.8 million) on Wednesday, a 50.5% increase on the same period last year. YPF earnings have been cushioned from the collapse of international oil prices by a government-controlled price for oil produced in the country, which sits at about $78 dollars per barrel.

• Friday, August 7th 2015 - 05:18 UTC

  Scottish lab identifies “super-algae” to make bio-fuels for vehicles and aircraft

  

  Researchers at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) have unlocked a treasure chest of ‘super-algae’ that could provide a previously untapped source of oil. Using a newly devised technique, scientists examined micro-algae strains in the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP), an internationally important algal store based at SAMS in Oban, to find out which ocean-based strains had the highest oil content.

• Wednesday, August 5th 2015 - 10:27 UTC

  BG announces first oil with FPSO vessel, 240kms off Rio de Janeiro coast

  

  BG Group announced first oil from the Cidade de Itaguaí floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, the sixth unit to start production across the group's discoveries in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The FPSO will produce from the Iracema North area of the Lula field in the Petrobras-operated BM-S-11 block.

• Wednesday, August 5th 2015 - 08:36 UTC

  Milestone for Peregrino field off Brazil: 100 million barrels of oil in four years

  

  After just four years in production, the Peregrino field in the Campos basin offshore Brazil has passed a significant milestone, with 100 million barrels of oil produced since April 2011. The field, jointly owned by Statoil and Chinese Sinochem, achieved the milestone on August 2.

• Tuesday, August 4th 2015 - 18:40 UTC

  US closer to lifting 40-year ban on oil and natural gas exports; bill needs Senate floor vote

  

  The United States is closer to begin exporting oil. The Senate Energy Committee passed a bill last week that would lift a decades-old ban on the export of crude oil. The 22-member panel approved the initiative to allow the US to export oil and boost state revenue-sharing for offshore oil and gas drilling by a vote of 12-10.

• Tuesday, August 4th 2015 - 10:04 UTC

  BP halts exploration activities off Uruguay and targets lower-risk projects

  

  British oil major BP has halted its deepwater exploration activities off Uruguay as it prioritises lower-risk projects at a time of low international prices, an official at Uruguay's state-owned oil company Ancap said on Monday.

• Tuesday, August 4th 2015 - 06:06 UTC

  Repsol makes first shipment from offshore gas field in the Gulf of Venezuela

  

  The first shipment to onshore facilities has been made from the offshore gas field discovered in 2009 in the Gulf of Venezuela by Spain's Repsol and Italy's Eni, Venezuelan officials said.President Nicolas Maduro called the arrival of the gas a “historic” event during a ceremony on Saturday to mark the completion of the first shipment.

• Tuesday, August 4th 2015 - 05:49 UTC

  ExxonMobil rig concludes exploration offshore Guyana: resumes seismic studies

  

  An ExxonMobil rig that re-ignited a maritime boundary dispute between Guyana and Venezuela has now left the area, a Guyanese official said on Monday, but denying it was because of Venezuelan pressure.

• Tuesday, August 4th 2015 - 05:18 UTC

  Oil glut and China's poor manufacturing data reflected in global markets

  

  United States stocks fell on Monday as oil prices touched a six-month low and factory data from China raised concerns about the world's second-biggest economy. Energy stocks were the biggest losers among the main S&P sectors, recording their worst three-day decline in seven months. Exxon Mobil and Chevron, which also reported poor results on Friday, led the losses.