Energy & Oil

• Tuesday, February 4th 2014 - 08:47 UTC

  YPF buys a Petrobras Neuquén/Mendoza block with production of 10.000bpd

  

  Argentina oil company YPF has bought out Brazil player Petrobras to take over full ownership of an exploration block in Neuquen and Mendoza provinces. YPF agreed to pay 40.7 million dollars for Petrobras' operatorship and 38.45% stake in the Puesto Hernandez block, cutting short a joint venture due to expire in 2016, according to the Argentina explorer.

• Friday, January 31st 2014 - 06:29 UTC

  Bad times for Shell: suspends drilling offshore Alaska and profits plunge

  

  Royal Dutch Shell will suspend drilling in offshore Alaska following an adverse US court decision and as the oil major streamlines operations because of a slump in annual profits, the company said on Thursday.

• Thursday, January 30th 2014 - 06:46 UTC

  Argentina's YPF wooing Malaysia Petronas to develop shale deposits

  

  Argentina oil company YPF is courting Malaysia's Petronas as a possible partner to develop the promising Vaca Muerta shale, according to reports. YPF chief executive Miguel Galuccio was in Kuala Lumpur for a meeting on Wednesday with Petronas leader Tan Sri Dato Shamsul Azhar Abbas, the La Nacion newspaper reported.

• Tuesday, January 28th 2014 - 05:17 UTC

  Market disruptor: nuclear restarts spells trouble for LNG

  

  By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com - There are two major factors that have emerged in the last five years that have sparked a surge in LNG investments. First is the shale gas “revolution” in the United States, which allowed the U.S. to vault to the top spot in the world for natural gas production.

• Sunday, January 26th 2014 - 02:27 UTC

  Four Wells planned by Rockhopper for 2014

  

  ROCKHOPPER Exploration has identified four wells it plans to drill in the upcoming 2014-2015 drilling campaign in the Falkland Islands.

• Friday, January 24th 2014 - 02:15 UTC

  Argentina: in chaotic trading dollar jumps 12.4% in one day to 8 Pesos in the official market

  

  In a day of chaotic trading the Argentine Peso on Thursday again plummeted against the US dollar losing 12.4% of its value in the official market, ending the day at just over 8 Pesos. In earlier operations the dollar was selling at 8,31 Pesos until the Central bank decided to intervene helping to cool the market.

• Friday, January 24th 2014 - 02:09 UTC

  Argentine 2013 trade surplus down 27%, helping with the dollar shortage

  

  Argentina's trade balance during 2013 left of surplus of 9.24 billion dollars, 27% less than in the previous year (12.42bn), according to the latest release from the official stats office, indec. Exports in the past year grew by 3% to reach a value of 83bn dollars, while imports rose by 8% and totaled just over 74bn.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 23:36 UTC

  Argentina after Israeli fighter planes; concern in London and Brasilia, says defense expert

  

  Argentina is considering the purchase from Israel of 18 multipurpose combat aircraft Kfir Block 60 after negotiations with Spain for 16 Mirage F1 fighter bombers fell through, according to a report from Buenos Aires daily Clarin.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 21:26 UTC

  Panama Canal expansion will be completed in 2015 “no matter what”, says minister

  

  Work to enlarge the Panama Canal will be completed in 2015 no matter what, Panamanian Finance Minister Frank De Lima said on Wednesday, despite the continuing feud over cost overruns with contractor GUPC. The Panama Canal authority “has strongly affirmed that the canal would be complete in 2015, with or without” the GUPC consortium, the minister told the media on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

• Monday, January 20th 2014 - 22:04 UTC

  Rockhopper finance director steps down but will remain as a consultant

  

  Falkland Islands oil and gas exploration company, Rockhopper Exploration confirmed Monday that its finance director, Peter Dixon-Clarke, plans to step down from his position in early 2014.