
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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Tension Leg Platform option is the most suitable technical and commercial solution for the development of the Falklands' Sea Lion field, according to the recommendation from field operator Premier Oil, said Rockhopper Exploration in an official release, which also announced further drilling is expected in the next twelve months.

UK independent Premier Oil reported Thursday that its production rate peaked at 75,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day during December, when the average rate was 69,000 boepd. Premier said that average production for 2013 as a whole was 58,200 boepd, compared to an average rate of 57,700 boepd for 2012.

US consumer inflation spiked in December, driven higher by rising fuel prices. The consumer price index rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the US Labor Department said.