Energy & Oil

• Wednesday, April 29th 2015 - 09:14 UTC

  Oil rich but power short Venezuela cuts working day to save electricity

  

  Venezuela says it will cut the working day for public sector workers to five-and-a-half hours to conserve energy, down from eight to nine hours. The initiative is part of a nationwide electricity rationing plan.

• Wednesday, April 29th 2015 - 08:18 UTC

  Petrobras contracting companies' officials released from jail and moved to house arrest

  

  Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered the release from jail of nine executives from engineering corporations charged in the corruption investigation at state-run oil firm Petrobras. In a statement the court said that the executives had the right to defend themselves out of jail, although they will be under house arrest.

• Wednesday, April 29th 2015 - 01:18 UTC

  Falklands confident of its oil industry safety regime and environment protection commitment

  

  The Falkland Islands maintain strong regulatory oversight on all oil and gas operations and its offshore safety regime is based on the North Sea’s Safety Case regulatory structure, recognized as one of the highest standards in the world, said the Falklands' government in a release following concerns related to technical issues on the rig Eirik Raude, currently operating in the South Atlantic.

• Tuesday, April 28th 2015 - 05:13 UTC

  China's oil giant Sinopec under investigation over corruption suspicions

  

  A senior executive at state energy firm China Sinopec Group is under investigation for suspected “serious disciplinary violations”. The China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) named Wang Tianpu, an oil industry veteran and president of Sinopec Group, in a statement on its website. Sinopec Group is the parent of Sinopec Corp, Asia's largest oil refiner.

• Monday, April 27th 2015 - 10:14 UTC

  Shell confident Petrobras will recover and willing to purchase more assets from the Brazil oil giant

  

  Royal Dutch Shell Plc has taken into account the risks presented by the Petrobras graft scandal to its expanding operations in Brazil and is confident the Brazilian state-run oil company will emerge stronger, Shell's CEO said in an interview.

• Monday, April 27th 2015 - 10:04 UTC

  Petrobras halts production in four platforms off Sergipe following a leak

  

  Petrobras oil platforms off the north-east coast of Brazil have halted production after a leak of about 44 barrels (7000 liters) of oil was detected coming from a pipeline linking them, a local oil workers union head said over the weekend.

• Saturday, April 25th 2015 - 06:33 UTC

  Oil price war may benefit both US Shale and Saudi Arabia

  

  Even as financial commentators on CNBC are starting to come around to the idea of a bottom in oil prices, the key question for US oil producers remains one of timing. How long will the oil price slump last? Is this a relatively short term event like 2008, or a longer term slump like the one in the mid 1980’s?

• Saturday, April 25th 2015 - 06:19 UTC

  Malvinas' oil rig drilling 'technical problem' triggers strong concern release from Argentina

  

  Argentina's Foreign Ministry expressed concerns on Friday over the failure in the blow-out preventer, BOP, valve of the “Isobel Deep” exploration well currently being drilled to the north of the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, as reported by Falkland Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL).

• Saturday, April 25th 2015 - 06:04 UTC

  Falklands' oil drilling at Isobel Deep suspended two weeks because of a technical problem

  

  Oil explorers drilling in the waters north of the Falkland Islands have suspended work on the second well of their 2015 current six-well drilling campaign after a technical problem, two of the companies involved said on Friday.

• Friday, April 24th 2015 - 22:08 UTC

  Eight first convictions in Petrobras corruption case including a former manager

  

  The Brazilian judge overseeing the investigation into alleged corruption at Petrobras on Wednesday convicted eight people of crimes related to kickbacks and bribery. Judge Sergio Moro found former Petrobras executive Paulo Roberto Costa and currency dealer Alberto Youssef guilty of money laundering, and Mr. Costa of belonging to a criminal organization.