
Argentina’ nationalized oil and gas corporation YPF is said to be in talks with Norway’s Statoil about a possible partnership as part of its 37 billion dollars drive to develop Argentina’s energy reserves. It is close to signing deals with US oil giant Chevron as well as Bridas Corp, the Chinese-Argentine joint venture, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Brazil's government has unveiled plans to invest 54.2 billion Reais (approx 26 billion dollars) over the next four years to modernize the country's ports, whose high costs and notorious delays are eroding the country’s competitive edge.

Argentine nationalized oil company YPF is in advanced discussions with potential partners on the development of its shale assets, the company's chief executive said. YPF could complete a deal with Bridas Energy Holdings Ltd. before the end of the year, while an agreement with US oil major Chevron Corp. will likely close in the first quarter of 2013, he said, adding that the deals would likely be similar in size.

Falklands Oil & Gas (FOGL) announced Thursday it had abandoned its Scotia exploration well in the south basin after disappointing results, thus completing its 2012 two-well drilling (Loligo and Scotia) program in the Falkland Islands.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said he discussed with his Argentine counterpart Cristina Fernandez the legal dispute with US oil giant Chevron that has spilled over into her country.

Aberdeen oil firm Faroe Petroleum has secured provisional exploration licences in the Dreki area on the Icelandic Continental Shelf. The company said the licences were extensive, encompassing seven blocks located inside the Arctic Circle to the north east of Iceland.

Emilio Botin chairman of Santander Bank, the leading financial institution in Spain and among the top largest in the European Union said in Sao Paulo that Brazil is the “number one country in Latin America” and the absolute preference of his institution.

Mexico’s government oil and gas giant Pemex confirmed the discovery of a crude reserve which could hold over 500 million barrels, and described as the largest on land strike in the last decade.

Cable and Wireless Communications have announced the sale of the majority of its Monaco and Islands division which includes the Falklands. The company has accepted 680m dollars (£420m) from Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) for the division which operates broadband and telephone lines.

Spain's Repsol SA filed on Monday a complaint against Argentina before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over its nationalization of energy company YPF SA, according to sources familiar with the dispute.