Energy & Oil

• Thursday, September 11th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Petrobras confirms pre-salt oil reservoir of light oil and gas

  

  Petrobras announced this week that the completion of the Iara well drilling (which first found oil in August 2007) confirmed the discovery of light oil in the Santos basin pre-salt reservoir with a recoverable volume estimated in 3 to 4 billion barrels of light oil and natural gas.

• Thursday, September 11th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Nuclear power predicted to continue to expand strongly

  

  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%.

• Wednesday, September 10th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Cautious OPEC to strictly comply with agreed quotas

  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.

• Tuesday, September 9th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Enarsa/Enap/YPF oil exploration rig arrives in South Atlantic

  

  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.

• Tuesday, September 9th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  OPEC calls to tackle “free for all energy speculation”

  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”.

• Sunday, September 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Colombia finds second oil well; signs accord with India

  

  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.

• Saturday, September 6th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Oil down 40 dollars from its record price of 147 a barrel

  

  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.

• Thursday, September 4th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil begins test extraction of oil 4.500 mts. below seabed

  

  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.

• Tuesday, September 2nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Hurricane Gustav downgrade eases oil price

  

  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.

• Monday, September 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Hurricane Gustav: Fears over damage to US oil rigs

  

  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”.