
Falkland Islands lawmaker Mike Summers cautioned at the latest meeting of the Legislative Assembly that a period of extensive change was inevitable for the Islands since the advent of the hydrocarbons industry would change the size of things and to some extent the nature of the community.

The Falkland Islands government has released the findings of the public consultation document ‘Your Future – Your Say’ which show a very strong support for phased development of the new port, “to serve all its potential users,” according to an Executive Council paper.

China Petrochemical Corporation, Sinopec, has agreed to buy a 33% stake in the Egyptian oil and gas business of US firm Apache Corporation. Sinopec will pay Apache 3.1bn dollars in cash for the stake. The deal is the latest in a series of similar moves by Chinese oil firms as they look to secure energy supplies to meet growing domestic demand.

On 17 July, Nicaragua announced that US-based Noble Energy would invest 30 million dollars in drilling two offshore wells in the Caribbean—launching Nicaragua's first-ever oil exploration.

The Argentine Patagonian province of Neuquén legislature approved by a comfortable majority the agreement struck between YPF and Chevron to exploit the Vaca Muerta shale gas reserves, after a day disrupted by fierce protests outside the provincial parliament.

Cecilia Malmstrom, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, will be heading the mission tasked with examining border controls imposed on Gibraltar by Spain while a second mission will address the ‘customs dimension’ issue, the European Commission has confirmed. British authorities will be involved in the EC probe of the Gibraltar frontier as will Spanish officials but no date for the visit has been set though it is expected within a few weeks.

The sovereignty issue should be left aside and talks should concentrate on the business opportunities offered by the oil industry in the Falkland Islands, said lawmaker Dick Sawle during an interview with AP in Brazil where he is on a week long visit of business and political contacts.

It's time to step out from my 'normal' role as the 'energy expert' and make a comment or two on the markets in general, just as a professional trader who's seen quite a bit in his almost 3 decades of daily experience with capital markets and the way they act. Patterns emerge that aren't foolproof, but they've served well over the years and they are making some very visceral noises to me, even observing the action at longer range on vacation.

The Falkland Islands government is reviewing a tax return submitted by one of the oil companies currently operating off-shore the Islands and is confident a mutually acceptable outcome can be reached.

Falkland Islands lawmaker Dick Sawle is expected next week in Brazil where he will be meeting representatives from the business community, students’ organizations and share lunch with a group of members of Congress, announced British ambassador in Brasilia Alex Ellis.