An energy bill that would require the first rise in vehicle fuel efficiency in more than 30 years was passed this week by the United States House of Representatives.
Brazil's government owned Petrobras confirmed this week the discovery of new natural gas reservoirs to the north of the Camarupim field, in the Espírito Santo Basin, off the southeastern coast of the country.
Desire Petroleum plc (AIM:DES) is pleased to announce that Wavefield InSeis ASA has completed the full site survey programme on Tranches C, I and L as planned. The entire survey was successfully acquired in 6 days with no weather downtime.
OPEC froze oil output levels on Wednesday, resisting calls for a hike to help cool sky-high prices that have flirted with 100 dollars and which threaten to dampen global economic growth.
Bolivian President Evo Morales has signed into law a contract for India's Jindal Steel and Power to develop the massive El Mutun iron ore deposit through a 2.1 billion US dollars investment, believed to be the largest foreign investment in Bolivia's history.
Canada's Methanex Corporation the world's largest producer of methanol announced it agreed to finance Chilean natural gas explorations by GeoPark holdings in exchange for a share of the gas it finds in the Magallanes basin.
Oil prices rebounded Monday as speculation grew that OPEC may decide to leave output unchanged at a meeting this week in Abu Dhabi. New York's light sweet crude for January delivery, closed at 89.31 dollars per barrel and in London Brent North Sea crude jumped 1.54 dollars to settle at 89.80 dollars.
China is interested in exploring for hydrocarbons on continental Argentina and in the South Atlantic, revealed Beijing's new ambassador in Buenos Aires Zeng Gang. He also said that talks for a possible joint undertaking offshore with Argentina's oil corporation Enarsa are also advancing.
Brazil's giant EBX recently announced plans to build the largest coal-fired energy-producing complex in Chile, to be named Castilla, which will be located near the Region III city of Copiapó. Market sources indicate that the investment associated with this type of power plant would exceed 2 billion US dollars.
Resources giant BHP Billiton said Wednesday it still hoped rival Rio Tinto would warm to its uninvited takeover bid, despite opposition from customers who fear it will lead to a stranglehold on prices.