As evidence of global warming continues to mount, the world community is coming ever closer to a consensus on the issue, agreeing that climate change is very much real and that it must – before its already present effects worsen – be urgently addressed.

Paraguay is a poor country and is fighting for a fair market price for its share of energy generated at South America’s largest hydroelectric dam shared with Brazil. “Somehow we are subsidizing Brazil’s energy”, said Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo in an interview with the Spanish daily El Mundo.

Venezuela will insist at this week end’s meeting in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, that the cartel needs to impose more production cuts, an influential lawmaker said in Caracas.

Argentina’s oil and gas producing provinces are requesting from the Buenos Aires a floor price for hydrocarbons to ensure income from royalties for their weakened budgets.

Brazilian president Lula da Silva said that relations with neighbouring Uruguay are at “their best level ever”, following a meeting Tuesday with visiting president Tabare Vazquez.

Rockhopper Exploration, the North Falkland Basin explorer announced Monday that Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documents prepared by RPS Energy in relation to planned future drilling activity have been submitted to the Falkland Islands Government. The EIS’s cover licences PL023, PL024, PL032 and PL033.

Brazil's energy managed corporation Petrobras will extract its first crude oil from the potentially huge offshore Tupi field find, of late 2007, below the salt layer of the Santos basin next May, announced President Lula da Silva.

As was anticipated Desire Petroleum has submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to the Falkland Islands government it was reported in London.

United States ExxonMobil has notified Brazilian regulatory agency Agencia Nacional de Petroleo, Gas Natural e Biocombustiveis (ANP) that it has found indications of hydrocarbons in block BM-S-22 off the Brazilian coast. The discovery was made in well 1-ESSO-3SPS.

Brazil’s government managed oil and gas corporation Petrobras announced its bio-fuels business plan for 2009/2013 which involves 2.4 billion US dollars to increase the production of bio-diesel and ethanol, most of which to be sourced in Brazil.