Energy & Oil

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 01:04 UTC

  Brazil says massive blackout was caused by a lightning storm

  

  Brazilian officials stated the blackout that left at least 60 million of people in the dark in Brazil and neighbouring Paraguay Tuesday was caused by a lightning storm.

• Thursday, November 12th 2009 - 06:37 UTC

  Brazil can’t explain the four hours massive blackout

  

  The world’s largest operational hydroelectric dam, Itaipú which on Tuesday caused a four hours blackout in 16 of Brazil’s 27 states and most of Paraguay was back in full production early morning Wednesday but authorities have so far remained silent about the causes of the major turnoff.

• Wednesday, November 11th 2009 - 10:55 UTC

  IEA forecasts 40% energy demand growth by 2030; mostly fossil fuels

  

  World global demand for energy which has fallen in 2009 because of the recession is forecasted to soar 40% by 2030 and the Copenhagen summit next month will be “crucial” to design an energy sustainable future according to the “World Energy Outlook 2009” released in London by the International Energy Agency.

• Tuesday, November 10th 2009 - 08:23 UTC

  New UK energy plan anticipates 40% nuclear power by 2025

  

  A huge expansion of nuclear power was signalled Monday by the British Government as it named 10 sites where new power stations could be built. The first is set to be operational by 2018 and, by 2025 nuclear electricity generation could amount to around 40% of new energy provision.

• Saturday, November 7th 2009 - 16:32 UTC

  Petrobras testing discovery of “huge” natural gas reserves in Peru’s Amazon

  

  Brazil's Petrobras said on Friday it is still studying drilling results from lot 58 in Peru's Amazon and has yet to estimate natural gas deposits there, a day after Peruvian President Alan Garcia said the company struck a large find.

• Thursday, November 5th 2009 - 09:51 UTC

  Petrobras receives Chinese financing to develop sub-salt oil resources

  

  Brazil's government managed oil and gas group Petrobras announced Wednesday it had signed a contract permitting the first payment from a 10 billion US dollar loan from China to help it finance upcoming investments.

• Thursday, November 5th 2009 - 05:42 UTC

  Chinese company buys oil assets in the US for the first time

  

  Chinese energy giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has bought oil assets in the US for the first time. CNOOC purchased limited stakes in four deepwater exploitation licences in the Gulf of Mexico from Norway's Statoil. The size of the deal is secret, but Statoil said it was small.

• Wednesday, November 4th 2009 - 09:24 UTC

  Iraq signs oil development agreements with Britain, China and Italy

  

  Iraq's oil ministry has signed an initial agreement with a consortium led by the Italian firm, ENI, to develop the Zubair oilfield in southern Iraq. The deal which needs cabinet approval calls for the group to extract 200,000 barrels of oil a day, rising to 1.1 million a day within seven years.

• Monday, November 2nd 2009 - 11:55 UTC

  Massive oil spill from Australian underwater well; top brains unable to plug leak

  

  An oil well at the centre of a massive spill in the Timor Sea off the North West coast of Australia is on fire. The company which runs the well, PTTEP Australasia, said the fire broke out as it made another attempt to plug a leak deep underwater at the West Atlas rig.

• Saturday, October 31st 2009 - 07:03 UTC

  Venezuela/Brazil agree terms of refinery to be built in Pernambuco

  

  Brazil's government managed oil company Petrobras said on Friday that it had concluded a deal with Venezuela's PDVSA to construct and operate a refinery in northeast Brazil.