
Speculation was mounting this week on news of a potential oil strike as a promised announcement from hydrocarbons exploration company Desire Petroleum grew closer.

Petrol prices could reach an eye-watering 120 pennies per litre later this year, the AA is warning. The organisation is claiming that unleaded fuel could even top the price, equivalent to £5.41 a gallon, and Alistair Darling is being urged to delay the introduction of a planned 3p increase in petrol duty due to come in on April 1.

Chile’s new Energy Minister Ricardo Raineri said the country’s electricity supply may not normalize for another six months, following a blackout which hit more than 70% of the country late Sunday night.

Brazil’s government managed oil company Petrobras will issue as much as 60 billion US dollars of new stock, most of which will go to the government in exchange for oil rights, Energy Minister Edison Lobao announced Tuesday.

Transformer failure blamed as much of the country goes dark.
A blackout blamed on a fault in Chile's Central Interconnected System hit nearly all of Chile around 8:50 p.m. local time Sunday night.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is paying $3.1bn (£2bn) for a 50% stake in Argentine oil and gas group Bridas Corporation. Cnooc Ltd.,

China's demand for oil jumped by an astonishing 28% in January compared with the same month a year earlier, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says.

British Petroleum has agreed to buy Brazilian, Azeri and Gulf of Mexico assets from Devon Energy for 7 billion US dollars, as the US producer refocuses on onshore US fields.

Lloyd's Register is to play a major role in a two year program to test the suitability of bio-diesel for use in powering marine engines. The feasibility study will take place on board the Maersk Line container ship, Maersk Kalmar.

Brazilian government managed corporation Petrobras, Repsol-YPF and BG Group found more evidence of oil in the same offshore Brazilian sub-salt block where the companies’ Guara field holds as much as 2 billion barrels of crude.