The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday that nuclear power is expected to continue to expand in the coming decades in line with the growing global demand for energy, while also reporting that the power source's share of global electricity generation dropped another percentage point in 2007 to 14%.
OPEC has told its members to strictly limit their production to agreed quotas as Brent crude dipped below 100 US dollars a barrel for the first time since April. After talks in Vienna, OPEC president Chakib Khelil said the measures to curb over-production amounted to a cut of 520,000 barrels a day within 40 days.
Prices have sunk from a record of more than 147 US dollars a barrel seen in July.
This Wednesday an oil exploration platform is scheduled to arrive in the South Atlantic contracted by Argentine state energy company Enarsa, Chilean state oil company Enap Sipetrol international branch and Argentine oil major YPF.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries conference in Vienna opened on Tuesday with a strong call to address the “free for all speculation in the energy sector” and the vindication that “throughout this turbulent period, supply and demand fundamentals have been sound”.
Colombia's government owned Petroleum Corporation, ECOPETROL announced the discovery of a promising well in the province of Huila to the southeast of the country with initial tests of 900 barrels of oil per day.
Oil prices have dipped below 106 US dollars as traders predicted that rising US unemployment would lead to consumers cutting back on petrol use. US light, sweet crude fell as low as $105.16 a barrel before recovering to settle down $1.66 at $106.23. Brent crude dropped $2.21 to $104.09.
President Lula da Silva inaugurated this week Brazil's first extraction of oil from deep waters which highlighted techniques to be applied to vast oil fields found even farther offshore and at greater depths.
Oil prices have fallen after weather forecasters said Hurricane Gustav had weakened as it hit the US Gulf of Mexico coast south-west of New Orleans.
With Hurricane Gustav on course to hit the US Gulf of Mexico coast, the damage it does to the region's oil facilities could be a “worst case scenario”.
Argentine and Chilean government and private oil companies announced Wednesday they would be investing 150 million US dollars to search for hydrocarbons in the South Atlantic.