
The Argentine government has declared “illegal” and “clandestine” the hydrocarbons' exploration activities carried out off the Falklands/Malvinas Islands by the Houston based Noble Falklands Limited company, according to a resolution by the country's Energy Office.

Petrobras struggling with the biggest debt load among global oil firms, on Monday cut $11 billion from capital spending plans for this year and next as Brazil's currency and oil prices slump. Petrobras plans to cut 2015 investment by 11% to $25 billion from the previous $28 billion, according to a statement.

Oil giant BP has agreed to pay $20bn to settle claims with the US stemming from the company's Deepwater Horizon oil spill. An explosion on BP's deep-water drill, off the coast of Louisiana in 2010 killed 11 workers.

As Shell retreats from the Arctic, the Italian oil giant Eni is making final preparations for its own oil exploration venture in the Norwegian Arctic, reports the UK media. Eni has vowed to press ahead with oil production ($5.5bn project), in the Norwegian Arctic, by the end of the year, undeterred by Shell’s decision to abandon its quest for Arctic oil.

Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras unexpectedly increased wholesale gasoline and diesel prices in the domestic market, potentially widening a controversial premium to international prices. The heavily indebted company said that the gasoline price would increase by 6%, and diesel by 4%, as of this Wednesday.

Royal Dutch Shell has stopped Arctic oil and gas exploration off the coast of Alaska after “disappointing” results from a key well in the Chukchi Sea. In a surprise announcement, the company said it would end exploration off Alaska “for the foreseeable future”.

Transocean Ltd., a top offshore drilling company, has been mentioned in testimony in a corruption investigation focused on Brazil's state-run Petrobras, Brazilian court documents showed.

Petrobras announced that the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for commercial and industrial clients has risen 11%, effective midnight Friday. The company said the increase does not affect the price of LPG sold in smaller containers for residential uses such as household cooking, which rose 15% on September first.

Falkland Oil and Gas PLC on Friday announced it has agreed with Rockhopper Exploration PLC and Premier Oil PLC to drill another well on the Isobel/Elaine complex to replace the planned Jayne East well.

Falklands focused Argos Resources Limited confirmed the completion by its wholly owned subsidiary, Argos Exploration Limited of a farm out agreement with Noble Energy Falklands Limited and Edison International S.p.A in respect of its Licence PL001.