The oil price rebounded on Friday to gain over ten dollars a barrel to almost 139 while US stock prices plummeted following the report of a sharp rise in unemployment. Oil soared after Israel raised the specter of an Israeli military strike on Iran and reports that it could reach 150 US dollars a barrel by July.
Brazilian president Lula da Silva said that over 800 million people every night go to sleep feeling hungry which is an insult to humanity and blamed the intolerable protectionism of wealthy countries that insulate their farming sectors.
Oil fields abandoned by Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria's Ogoniland in the Niger Delta 15 years ago will be given to another oil company this year, President Umaru Yar'Adua said on Wednesday during a visit to South Africa, according to press reports.
Bolivia said Wednesday that natural gas provision to Brazil and Argentina are guaranteed following this week's nationalization of the Transredes pipeline system which was partly owned by UK's Ashmore and Shell.
Oil giant Shell corporation Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said on Monday he did not see any shortage of physical oil supplies, echoing the view of many OPEC ministers who say the world market is well-supplied.
Brazilian president Lula da Silva during his official visit to El Salvador invited Central American nations which are grouped in the integration system, SICA, to join Mercosur and strongly promoted the use of ethanol.
Argentina again faces a winter shortage of energy and has been forced to cut the provision of natural gas to 300 manufacturing establishments given the rise in domestic consumption of fuel for home heating.
Chile's Minister of Energy Marcelo Tokman announced Wednesday that because of low production problems Argentina will not be pumping natural gas for several days, although he said that home and commercial provision was guaranteed.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has boosted crude supply to help meet the world's need for fuel and may further increase output later if needed, a senior Gulf OPEC source said on Wednesday quoted by Reuters.
Global annual wind energy production is expected to grow explosively in the next 10 years to reach 107,000 megawatt (MW) by the year 2017, (from the current 20.000 MW) according to a study from the German wind energy institute, DEWI, which is organizing the Husum Wind Energy trade fair next September.