
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.

Brazil’s embattled Petrobras released its long delayed third quarter results Wednesday but did not include any reserves tied to an ongoing corruption scandal that has already landed three former executives in jail. The company recorded a third quarter 2014 net profit of 1.18 billion dollars, down from 1.32 billion during the same period last year.

The United States Monday rolled out a new initiative for Caribbean countries to ensure energy security in a move widely seen as distancing the Caribbean from Venezuela for their oil and energy needs.