Energy & Oil

• Tuesday, October 8th 2013 - 18:15 UTC

  Brazil limits Chinese state-controlled companies to joint bidding for largest offshore oil prospect

  

  Brazil is limiting Chinese state-controlled oil companies to joint bids to develop its largest offshore oil discovery, amid concerns the players could share data and reduce competition ahead of the 21 October auction, said Brazilian officials.

• Sunday, October 6th 2013 - 06:51 UTC

  Petrobras sells to Shell two oil prospects offshore Uruguay

  

  Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras approved the sale of the company's stake in two oil prospects in Uruguay's Punta del Oeste Basin to Royal Dutch Shell Plc for 17 million dollars, according to a filing late on Friday. The two prospects are identified as Blocks 3 and 4.

• Sunday, October 6th 2013 - 06:40 UTC

  Falklands ‘confident’ about ‘mutually acceptable outcome’ on taxes with oil company

  

  The Falkland Islands Government remains, “confident that a mutually acceptable outcome can be reached with Rockhopper,” on the matter of their tax bill from FIG, confirmed Financial Secretary Nicola Granger last week and indicated the situation would have no impact on local tax laws.

• Friday, October 4th 2013 - 06:47 UTC

  Uruguay’s annual inflation in September reached 9.02%; minister confident it will be brought down

  

  Uruguay’s consumer inflation soared 1.36% over August in September boosted by increases in energy and fuel, transport, milk and other basic items, according to the latest release from INE, the government’s data office. This means inflation in the last twelve months climbed to 9.02% from a month ago (8.86%) and 8.2% in the first nine months of 2013.

• Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 23:12 UTC

  Argentine oil company finds way to invest in Vaca Muerta and elude legal action from Repsol

  

  One day after the Argentine government extended the deadline to legalize undeclared cash, energy company Bridas International gave new life to the BAADE energy bonds, the most relegated portion of the whitewash scheme, by saying it would snap up 500 million dollars of the paper.

• Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 19:36 UTC

  Falklands’ ‘FOGL and Desire Combination’ prepare to drill five wells next year

  

  Falkland Oil & Gas is to buy a smaller Falklands-based firm to create a “combination” company with licences to search for oil both to the north and south of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. FOGL said on Thursday it had agreed to buy Desire Petroleum offering 0.6 FOGL “consideration” shares for each Desire share, in a deal valuing Desire at 61 million pounds (99 million dollars).

• Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 19:29 UTC

  Collapse of a 35bn dollars empire; Brazil’s Eike Batista defaulted on 45 million interest payment

  

  Two days ago, former Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista crossed a line. He started to default on a 45 million dollars interest payments on his oil and gas company, OGX's, bonds. The default will be official on October 30th, according to Bloomberg. That leaves bondholders, like PIMCO, the largest bond fund in the world helmed by legendary investor Bill Gross, taking a massive hit. And what's worse is that there could be more to come, according to the Wall Street Journal.

• Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 07:19 UTC

  Repsol expands 70% a natural gas processing plant capacity in Bolivia

  

  Bolivian President Evo Morales and the chairman and CEO of Spanish energy major Repsol, Antonio Brufau, inaugurated the newly expanded Margarita natural gas processing plant, with a capacity increased of nearly 70%.

• Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 06:54 UTC

  Russian oil giant wants to sell stake in Orinoco project and get out of Venezuela

  

  Lukoil, Russia's second-biggest oil producer wants to sell its stake in a Russian consortium developing a large oil project in Venezuela because it is not a high priority, Lukoil's head said on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, October 2nd 2013 - 16:22 UTC

  Chevron reaches negotiated settlement in Brazil oil spill case after two year legal battle

  

  A Brazilian federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against US oil company Chevron Corp after approving a negotiated settlement, a decision that closes a nearly two-year legal battle over an oil spill in November 2011.