Energy & Oil

• Thursday, May 2nd 2013 - 07:06 UTC

  YPF admits ‘inflation in Argentina is a problem” and could be higher by next year

  

  Argentine nationalized energy company YPF warned on Tuesday that inflation in the country may keep rising and affect its results, a rare admission considering the company is controlled by a government known for playing down the problem.

• Thursday, May 2nd 2013 - 06:33 UTC

  Fire in Argentina knocks out main refinery and imports of gasoline and diesel trebled

  

  Almost four million barrels of diesel and gasoline were shipped from Europe and the US to Argentina where a recent major fire in the country’s main refinery significantly diminished the supply of refined produce. The situation could extend for another two years, according to private estimates from the oil industry.

• Thursday, May 2nd 2013 - 06:25 UTC

  Argentina natural gas imports in March soar 74% compared to a year ago

  

  Argentina's natural gas imports rose 74% to 28.4 million cubic meters/d in March, compared with 16.3 million cu m/d in the year-earlier period, the country’s Energy Secretariat said Monday. Imports were up 16% compared with 24.5 million cu m/d in February, according to a monthly data report.

• Thursday, May 2nd 2013 - 06:18 UTC

  Petrobras continues divestment program: sells blocks in US Gulf of Mexico

  

  Brazil’s Petrobras is selling its 20% stake in the Gila prospect in the US Gulf of Mexico as part of its ongoing divestment program. The state-owned company said it had signed a sale and purchase agreement for the sale of its equity in exploration blocks KC 49, 50, 92, 93, 94 and 138, which make up the BP-operated asset.

• Tuesday, April 30th 2013 - 21:00 UTC

  UK Ministry of Defence deems wind towers a national security threat

  

  By John C.K. Daly of Oilprice.com - Twenty-plus years on, the collapse of the USSR in 1991 threatened massive Western defence budgets, bereft of a major enemy like the “Evil Empire.”

• Friday, April 26th 2013 - 07:36 UTC

  Argentina industrial production down in March and in first quarter compared to 2012

  

  Argentina’s industrial output registered a 0.3% drop in March year-on-year, according to Indec the official statistics bureau. The report stated that the manufacturing activity climbed 1.5% compared to February and dropped 0.4% annually in the first three months.

• Thursday, April 25th 2013 - 06:00 UTC

  Maduro declares electricity ‘emergency’ and calls the Army in support

  

  President Nicolas Maduro's government declared a 90-day “emergency” in Venezuela's electricity sector this week to speed up infrastructure work and equipment imports needed to prevent politically-contentious power cuts.

• Thursday, April 25th 2013 - 05:46 UTC

  China to overtake US as main oil importer by 2014 says OPEC

  

  China is on course to overtake the US as the world’s top crude importer by 2014, as the Asian country’s growing refining capacity boosts demand and America’s fracking boom cuts the need for foreign oil, OPEC said in its monthly report.

• Wednesday, April 24th 2013 - 06:29 UTC

  Falkland Island's booming economy: request to develop two 200-bed accommodations

  

  In anticipation of the business opportunities the oil industry will bring to the Falkland Islands, a leading company has plans to build in the capital Stanley two temporary 200-bed accommodations, according to the planning applications received.

• Wednesday, April 24th 2013 - 05:49 UTC

  Brazil to the rescue of the sugar-ethanol industry with lower taxes and soft credit

  

  The Brazilian government has come to the rescue of the sugar-ethanol industry announcing that as of next May first the mandatory content of ethanol in gasoline will increase from 20% to 25%, taxes on the sugar-cane fuel will be eliminated and there will be soft loans to keep expansion going.