
PDVSA, Venezuela’s government oil and gas giant will allow joint ventures with China National Petroleum Corp. and Chevron Corp. to manage 6 billion dollars in loans designed to revert oil output declines, said a PDVSA official.

President Rafael Correa said he expects the regional groupings Alba and Unasur to meet urgently and address the “legal aberration” committed by a UN trade law arbitrage tribunal against Ecuador in a case involving US multinational Chevron and decades of environmental damages.

An Argentine appeals court has upheld an embargo on the assets of Chevron Corp.'s local subsidiary, a legal setback for the company, which had said the embargo compromised its operations in the country. A lower court judge issued the embargo last year as part of a decades-old legal dispute involving claims that Chevron is responsible for environmental contamination in Ecuador.

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.

Spain’s Repsol has sued Chevron Corp. in New York seeking to prevent the US oil giant from developing energy assets in Argentina. The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday follows other legal claims that the Spanish oil company has filed in Madrid and Washington, demanding more than 10 billion dollars in compensation for the majority stake in the YPF oil company that Argentina's government took over in April.

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez announced on Wednesday that wellhead natural gas prices are to rise substantially from current levels, an estimated 44%, with the purpose of attracting more investments and increasing production.

An Argentine judge has embargoed up to 19 billion dollars in Chevron assets in connection with an environmental lawsuit by Ecuadorean villagers, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said on Wednesday.

As part of an ongoing lawsuit between US Chevron oil and plaintiffs from various Amazonian villages, an Ecuadorian court has ordered the seizure of approximately 200 million dollars worth of the company's assets.

Brazilian energy giant Petrobras on Friday asked a Rio do Janeiro court to lift a ban on operations of rig owner Transocean in connection with a major ocean oil spill last year. The company filed a civil action as injured third party to press for the immediate lifting of a July 31 injunction ordering US oil firm Chevron and Switzerland-based Transocean to stop drilling and shipping activities in Brazil within 30 days.

Argentine nationalized oil company YPF moved forward in the signing of an agreement with Russian state oil company Gazprom to develop conventional and non-conventional gas in Argentina and the eventual supply of liquefied gas.