Energy & Oil

• Thursday, May 22nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Commodities hedging and weak dollar spur record oil prices

  

  Oil prices jumped on Wednesday to a new record high, 134 US dollars a barrel, on concerns about low US crude stockpiles, the weak dollar, supply constraints and increasing demand.

• Thursday, May 22nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Petrobras announces new oil discovery in ultra deep waters

  Brazil's government managed oil and gas corporation Petrobras announced this week the presence of oil traces in pre-salt reservoirs, in ultra deep waters off shore Sao Paulo in the Santos Basin.

• Thursday, May 22nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Oil market has gone “crazy” says OPEC secretary

  OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah El-Badri maintained on Thursday that the oil market has gone “crazy” and blamed the situation on geopolitical tensions, speculation and the weak US dollar. “We want moderate prices”.

• Saturday, May 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Saudis reject oil production increase request from Bush

  Saudi Arabia rejected on Friday an appeal by visiting US President George W Bush to raise oil production reported a US official. Saudi officials said they were already meeting demand, and had increased production by 300,000 barrels per day earlier this month.

• Saturday, May 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguay sets oil exploration licensing round timetable

  Uruguay has approved the legal framework and timetable for a round of hydrocarbons exploration licensing, offshore, which will have a first presentation next December. The round is based on the encouraging results of seismic surveying and the interest shown by several global oil corporations, according to the Uruguayan government.

• Saturday, May 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Peruvian president calls for tax on oil to finance reforestation

  Peruvian President Alan Garcia said on Friday taxes on oil and natural gas exports could help fund global efforts to combat climate change and promote reforestation of the Amazon River basin.

• Thursday, May 15th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Falklands Oil & Gas ready to begin drilling in 2009

  

  Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd., which operates in the southern and eastern regions of the Falkland Islands, said it expects to begin exploratory drilling in 2009. FOGL secured last October a farm in deal with mining giant BHP Billiton.

• Wednesday, May 14th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Lack of rainfall forces energy restrictions in Uruguay

  

  Uruguay moved on Monday into phase II of compulsory energy saving measures since lack of sufficient rainfall has seriously limited hydroelectric generation, the country's main source of energy. However the announced restrictions have resurfaced fears about street crime and the manufacturing industry believes the country is on the edge of an emergency situation.

• Sunday, May 11th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  France's Total purchased lubricant plant in Chile

  France's TOTAL, one of the world's largest oil companies, confirmed its purchase of the Chilean lubricant plant Castrol. TOTAL currently supplies Chile with 3% of its oil consumption, a figure that will grow as a result of the Castrol purchase.

• Friday, May 9th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Sugar cane becomes Brazil's second energy source

  Sugar cane and cane-based ethanol became a more important energy source than hydroelectric power in Brazil's overall energy production last year, topped only by petroleum and oil products according to a report from the government's energy planning agency, EPE.