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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, September 26th 2026 - 02:17 UTC

Energy & Oil

  • Thursday, April 9th 2015 - 01:35 UTC

    Brazil inflation soars as electricity rates go up 22% in March and 60.42% in the last 12 months

    Housing costs rose 5.29% in March from February alone, pushed up by a 22% increase in electricity rates because of a severe drought affecting hydroelectric production

    Consumer prices in Brazil picked up in March, putting the 12-month rate at the highest level in more than eleven years, highlighting one of the main challenges facing Latin America's largest economy in the year ahead. The rolling 12-month IPCA was up 8.13% through March, up from 7.70% in February, remaining well above the central bank's 6.5% ceiling. In the first quarter of the year, prices have risen 3.83%, while the 12-month figure marked the highest level since December 2003, when it reached 9.30%.

  • Wednesday, April 8th 2015 - 14:44 UTC

    Argentina's few friends in the world; China and Russia, Cristina Fernandez foreign policy priorities

    “Argentina has been erased from world leaders' agenda with the exception of China and Russia”, points out Morales Solá

    Argentina's foreign policy, under president Cristina Fernández, has new priorities, China and Russia, according to columnist Joaquin Morales Solá, one of the outstanding political analysts of Argentina. This means a radical change from democratic Argentina (since 1983) when the interests of the country were targeted in Latin America, particularly Brazil, Europe and the US, although the importance of the short list varied according to the different elected presidents.

  • Tuesday, April 7th 2015 - 22:40 UTC

    Falklands oil exploration rig moves to Isobel Deep, following Zebedee drilling success

    The Eirik Raude rig successful drill at Zebedee was announced last week. The operation partners are Premier Oil (36%), Rockhopper, (24%) and Falkland Oil and Gas (40%)

    Following its success with the Zebedee drill, the rig Eirik Raude is moving a short distance to start the second well of the latest Falkland Islands exploration campaign. The next target of the current four prospects exploration campaign is Isobel Deep, later followed by Jayne East and finally Chatham.

  • Monday, April 6th 2015 - 17:15 UTC

    Santos port four-day fire raging; efforts concentrated in stopping flames from spreading

    Firefighters said there was little they could do to extinguish the flames before most of the fuel was consumed.

    A fire at a fuel storage facility near Brazil's largest port Santos entered its fourth day on Sunday as 110 firefighters worked to stop the flames from spreading further, the local fire department said.

  • Monday, April 6th 2015 - 16:43 UTC

    Mexican oil production drops following deadly fire on offshore rig

    Production fell from 650,000 barrels per day to 430,000 in the Campeche Sound region of the Gulf of Mexico after Wednesday's blast and blaze (Pic AFP)

    Mexico's oil production dropped following a deadly fire at an offshore platform, while authorities are still searching for three missing workers, state-run energy firm Pemex said.

  • Monday, April 6th 2015 - 06:20 UTC

    International legal actions against Petrobras keep climbing

    Sweden's 30 billion AP1 pension fund plans to sue Petrobras separately from an existing class action lawsuit after revelations of a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal

    One of Sweden’s largest investors has pledged to take direct legal action against Petrobras, becoming the third large investor to seek damages individually from the Brazilian oil group.

  • Monday, April 6th 2015 - 06:02 UTC

    UK ratifies support for Falklands' oil and gas industry development

    “We are satisfied that Falklands have the right to develop their hydrocarbons sector as a legitimate commercial venture with international oil and gas companies”

    The British government has dismissed a reported threat from Argentina to prosecute oil firms drilling near the 
Falkland Islands. Argentine authorities said that the explorations “carry a huge environmental risk” and claimed that the London-registered companies, which announced last week they had found oil and gas in a remote field off the Islands, should be tried in Argentina

  • Friday, April 3rd 2015 - 07:08 UTC

    Falklands first well of current drilling program declared “oil and gas discovery”

    MLA Jan Cheek said the Zebedee discovery identifies additional resources that could form part of subsequent phases of the Sea Lion field development

    The Falkland Islands government welcomed on Thursday the announcement by Premier Oil and partners that the 14/15b=5 “Zebedee” well has been declared an oil and gas discovery following the completion of its evaluation program, Zebedee is the first of six wells from the current drilling campaign planned to take place in Falklands waters during 2015.

  • Thursday, April 2nd 2015 - 08:08 UTC

    Can Argentina capitalize on its vast shale reserves?

    Experts have kept an eye since the US Energy Information Administration identified Argentina as holding the world's second largest shale gas and fourth largest shale oil reserves.

    Argentina, once a regional energy leader, is now better known for financial busts and bombastic politicians than hydrocarbons prospects. Still, with a resource potential both vast and untapped, the nation has never been far from energy investors' minds. The question today is just how much Argentina is willing to change and how this plays into a low oil price environment that is already negatively impacting investment elsewhere.

  • Thursday, April 2nd 2015 - 07:42 UTC

    Falklands oil explorer looking for associate to develop Darwin discovery

    Borders and Southern said it has been looking to secure partners against a backdrop of weaker oil prices, reduced expenditure but also cheaper rig and well service costs.

    Falklands’ explorer Borders and Southern Petroleum PLC said this week its pre-tax loss widened in 2014 as costs increased, and admitted it has struggled to find a partner for the Darwin discovery to the south of the Falkland Islands, against a backdrop of reduced investment by companies caused by the fall in oil prices.