
Roberto Angelini, president of the Chilean industrial Angelini conglomerate which owns petroleum distribution company COPEC, announced plans for COPEC's expansion in 2009, worth 678 million US dollars, despite the financial crisis

Since 2005 Argentina has consumed 25% of its natural gas reserves, 15% of oil reserves and the Mar Argentino (South Atlantic) which has “great possibilities remains virtually untouched”, reads a critical report on the outlook for the Argentine energy sector compiled by eight former Energy Secretaries from different governments.

Brazil’s government managed oil and gas corporation Petrobras established in March new production records, according to a release from the company. The average oil and gas production last month reached 2,315,276 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), 9.5% more than a year ago and 3% above last month’s mark.

Chile is just months away from beginning operations at a huge Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) re-gasification plant that was first planned during the Ricardo Lagos administration. The 1.1 billion US dollars plant is located near the Region V coastal city of Quintero.

Bolivia is forecasting a 17% fall in its hydrocarbons tax and royalties revenues because of the fall in the international price of gas and oil sold to Argentina and Brazil according to official reports.

Colombian state-owned oil company Ecopetrol S.A. said Tuesday it signed an agreement with US-based Anadarko Petroleum Coporation to explore for crude oil off the coast of Brazil. Ecopetrol's subsidiary in Brazil will hold a 50% stake in block BMC-29, the company said in a statement.

The Brazilian government is planning to offer a financing package worth one billion US dollars for industrial projects in Paraguay, local financial newspaper Valor Economico reported this week. According to the newspaper, which cited unnamed sources, the financing will be offered through Brazil's National Development Bank, or BNDES.

The Uruguayan government has modified the bidding terms for offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation, given the dramatic fall in oil prices and the deepening global economic crisis.

Oil and gas company Geopark which operates in the extreme south of Chile announced this week it had reached a daily extraction of a million cubic metres of natural gas, equivalent to 20% of Chilean production, making her the country’s largest private producer.

A huge project involving 300 million US dollars for the exploitation of coal deposits in the extreme south Chilean Magallanes Region was officially presented in Punta Arenas this week by Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman and top officials from the two companies involved in the project.