
The Uruguayan government sent a draft law to parliament Tuesday that would ban the ownership of land by companies if they are in any way linked to foreign countries. The measure states it aims to avoid the risk of foreign states breaching the sovereignty of the Uruguayan state in the absence of appropriate regulations and occupying a significant position in agricultural activity.

OPEC said on Tuesday its rivals will produce more oil than expected this year, as it continued backpedaling from its previous skepticism over the significance of a US shale boom. The views of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries show it is narrowing its differences with oil consumers on the impact of resurgent North American output.

Argentina has begun a determined campaign to deter companies from drilling for oil in disputed waters around the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic. On the eve of a visit by UK parliamentarians to Buenos Aires this week, the Argentine embassy in London warned that legal action was being ramped up against drillers and their suppliers, reports Terry Macalister in The Guardian.

Argentina's nationalized YPF has discovered a new conventional oil well in the western Mendoza province, which will add 15 million barrels of crude to its reserves. Initial production at the El Manzano bloc and the Mirador del Valle x-1 well at 1,789 meters deep is expected to be around 535 barrels per day, the company said.

At the slow-spreading mid-Atlantic ridge in the South Atlantic Ocean an iron cloud spreads for more than 1,000 kilometers across the Atlantic from west of Namibia, Africa, to northeast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The iron-rich waters flow 1,500 to 3,500 meters beneath the surface of the ocean. The complete extent and shape of the iron plume remains to be discovered.

Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd, FOGL, announced on Friday it has started the third 3D seismic survey of its northern area licences in the Falkland Islands. The oil and gas exploration and development company with operations in the Falkland Island Basins said the PGS Ramform Titan ship has begun the survey over the mid-Cretaceous complex.

The Galician multinational firm Pescanova needs an estimated 185 million Euros in working capital to be run in a year, according to estimates made by the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera has entered the fray surrounding Barrick Gold’s decision to temporarily suspend construction on its troubled Pascua Lama gold mine which straddles up in the Andes along Chile and Argentina, a move which activists slammed as a ploy.

Despite all the efforts and new incentives implemented by the administration of President Cristina Fernandez, Argentina's oil and gas production to August compared to last year's eight months continues to decline although at a slower rate: 2.76% and 6.57% respectively, according to the latest figures released by the Energy Secretary.

The Falkland Islands Government has announced that an updated version of the FIG Oil Readiness Checklist is now available online. The checklist refers to key areas from the FIG ongoing program for the development of the hydrocarbons industry as it grows into a production phase.