
Brazilian federal police said on Thursday they had started questioning João Vaccari Neto, the treasurer of the country's ruling Workers' Party, as a corruption probe focused on state-run oil company Petrobras widened to include political figures.

The oil markets are showing some life, having rallied 11% over a two-day period. But if a bigger rebound is not around the corner, it won’t just be oil companies that will be feeling the pain: their lenders will also face some steep losses if drillers can’t come up with the cash to cover debt payments.

Argentine state majority owned petroleum company YPF has secured funds worth around 500 million dollars on the international finance market after issuing new bond titles, according to the president of the enterprise.

The chief executive and other senior management at Brazil's Petrobras officially resigned on Wednesday amid a festering corruption scandal, sending shares higher as the government scrambled to find replacements capable of restoring investor confidence in the state-run oil company.

Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is expected to sign agreements with China to increase military co-operation, including construction of new warships for the Argentine Navy, during her current state visit to Beijing, according to media reports and Jane's Defense Weekly.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will replace the chief executive and other senior managers at state-run oil company Petrobras later this month in an effort to turn the page on the widening corruption scandal. Petrobras shares jumped more than 15%, their biggest one-day gain in 16 years, after Folha do Sao Paulo first reported that Rousseff intended to replace CEO Maria das Graças Foster.

Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd has confirmed that the Eirik Raude rig has commenced mobilization from West Africa to the Falkland Islands for the 2015 drilling program, which will be operated by Premier Oil and Noble Energy.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the credit rating of Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras because of the widening kickback-corruption scandal affecting the country's largest corporation.The credit rating agency announced its decision late Thursday in a statement posted on its website.

A Brazilian state court froze the assets of former Petrobras Chief Executive Officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli amid an investigation of graft and money-laundering in the government-run oil producer's contracts with construction companies.

Argentine state-controlled energy company YPF said it signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday with China's Sinopec pertaining to the eventual development of conventional and non-conventional oil and gas projects in Patagonia.