Can Guyana Salvage Its Much-Hyped Oil Boom?
The deeply impoverished South American country of Guyana in recent years was heralded as the hottest new oil boom in the Americas. A series of large offshore oil discoveries by Continue Reading
Is Argentina’s Shale Too Expensive To Drill?
It is one of the most abundant shale plays in the world, with oil reserves of up to 16 billion barrels and gas reserves of 308 trillion cubic meters—resources that Continue Reading
Can Peru’s Oil Industry Survive This Crisis?
Indigenous protests have taken over Peru, threatening to undermine the Latin American nation’s burgeoning upstream industry. To many it would come as a surprise that Peru has any substantial amounts Continue Reading
Russia Is Winning The Battle For Venezuela’s Oil
In just over a year Venezuela, and the push to oust socialist leader President Nicolas Maduro, has gone from being one of the world’s hottest news headlines to obscurity. The Continue Reading
Venezuela Struggles To Restart Gasoline Production
Crisis- and sanctions-hit Venezuela is struggling with resuming gasoline production at its refineries, restarting and shutting various units again at some of its still operating refineries in recent weeks. Most Continue Reading
Venezuela’s Maduro Thanks Iran for Helping Oil Industry Overcome U.S. Sanctions
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday thanked ally Iran for helping the South American country overcome U.S. sanctions on its oil industry and floated the idea of purchasing missiles from Continue Reading
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro Is Weighing Purchase of Iranian Missiles
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he was weighing the purchase of Iranian missiles, days after Colombian President Ivan Duque accused him of doing so. “It’s not a bad idea,” Maduro said Continue Reading
Trump administration to tap into frozen Venezuelan government funds to revive efforts to oust Maduro
The Trump administration is tapping into more than $300 million in frozen Venezuelan government funds in an effort to give new momentum to its elusive goal of ousting President Nicolás Continue Reading
Low Prices Put The Brakes On Peru’s Oil Ambitions
One country often ignored when considering Latin America’s regional hydrocarbon sector is the Latin American country of Peru. Over the last two decades, the Andean country has developed rapidly to Continue Reading
New Guyana Oil Rules Could Delay Exxon’s Developments
The new government in the world’s newest oil producer, Guyana, looks to raise the requirement for local content in employment and procurement of goods and services in the offshore oil Continue Reading
Guilty Plea Entered in PdVSA Corruption Investigation
Ms. Rangel pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S., according to a plea agreement filed last week. Felipe Jaramillo, a lawyer who represents Continue Reading
Trump Administration Weighs Tighter Venezuelan Oil Sanctions
The Trump administration is considering additional sanctions on Venezuela aimed at halting the remaining fuel transactions permitted with the South American nation, according to people familiar with the matter. The measures Continue Reading
U.S. eyes October deadline to end exemptions on Venezuela oil sanctions: sources
The United States is considering an October deadline for ending exemptions to Venezuelan sanctions that allow some companies and refiners to still receive the South American producer’s oil, two sources Continue Reading
Venezuela Treats Infected as Criminals
The government of President Nicolás Maduro is detaining and intimidating doctors, marking the homes of people suspected of having the virus and detaining those who are returning to the country. Continue Reading
Venezuela Oil Production Close to Zero
Venezuela could soon be producing close to zero barrels of oil, a new analysis by IHS Markit has revealed. Venezuela could soon be producing close to zero barrels of oil, Continue Reading
Venezuela Ramps Up Oil Exports Against All Odds
Despite tightening U.S. sanctions, Venezuela’s PDVSA has managed to ramp up its oil exports this month, with the daily average hitting 325,000 barrels, which was the highest in four months, Continue Reading
ExxonMobil secures another long-term concession in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta
ExxonMobil has been awarded a 35-year concession for another block in Vaca Muerta, a massive shale play that has been driving the company’s growth in oil and natural gas production Continue Reading
Tankers ship Iranian fuel cargoes to U.S. for seizure
Tankers carrying Iranian fuel cargoes covered by a U.S. warrant for seizure are sailing to the United States after talks between U.S. authorities and ship owners, a U.S. government source Continue Reading
Low Quality Crude Is Crushing Venezuelan Oil Exports
Venezuela’s oil exports – which have dropped significantly over the past year because of the U.S. sanctions – are suffering another blow these days: the quality of the crude loaded Continue Reading
Venezuela Looks To Ease Gasoline Shortage By Restarting Production Units
Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm PDVSA looks to restart another gasoline-producing unit soon, hoping to ease the gasoline shortages in the country that sits atop the world’s largest crude oil reserves. Continue Reading
How Venezuela lost three oil supertankers to its Chinese partner
A shipping joint venture between Venezuela and China has fallen apart in the wake of U.S. sanctions, resulting in the South American nation losing three supertankers at a time when Continue Reading
European banks face indigenous calls to end Amazon oil trade
European banks committed to backing action on climate change face allegations of double standards from indigenous groups in Ecuador after a report named them as major players in the trade Continue Reading
Are Oil Majors Giving Up On Guyana?
Guyana has become one of the main upstream stars of the past decade, rising from zero to hero in less than 5 years. Much of Guyana’s rise to prominence took Continue Reading
A Worrying Sign For Two Major Oil Hotspots
Active Rigs Fall to Zero in Two Oil Hotspots In the latest sign of the times, and what very well may be an indicator of things to come, two major Continue Reading
Fuel Rationing Plunges Oil-Rich Venezuela Deeper Into Crisis
Venezuela is once again shuttering gas stations across the country as the chronic shortage of fuel deepens due to ailing refineries and crippling sanctions limiting imports into the country. State oil Continue Reading
U.S. Companies Eye Venezuelan Oil Tankers As Debt Payment
O-I Glass Inc, a glass manufacturer, is trying to seize a Venezuelan oil tanker as part of efforts to secure the $500 million in arbitration compensation granted it by a Continue Reading
Argentina Scrambles To Salvage Its Shale Boom
Only two years ago analysts were hailing Argentina’s emerging shale oil boom, which many believed would be the next major petroleum frontier in Latin America. The vast Vaca Muerta, or Continue Reading
Venezuela’s Rig Count Officially Falls To Zero
Venezuela no longer has any operational oil rigs after the last oilfield services firm that was still drilling for oil in the country holding the world’s largest crude oil reserves Continue Reading
Oil Newcomer Guyana Avoids Pariah Status
Guyana’s electoral authorities declared opposition candidate Irfaan Ali president Sunday, ending a five-month constitutional crisis that threatened to turn the South American nation into an international pariah. The decision eases Continue Reading
U.S. defense firm joins creditors seeking to enforce Venezuela judgments
U.S. defense contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc has joined a long line of creditors seeking to enforce a judgment against heavily indebted OPEC member Venezuela, court documents filed on Friday Continue Reading
Apache Compensates For Poor Earnings With A Major Oil Discovery
Last year, shale driller Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) made waves after it sacked one of the most iconic CEOs in the shale patch, Steven Keenan. Keenan was reportedly shown the Continue Reading
Chilean minister says future hydrogen industry to rival copper
Chile, the world’s largest producer of copper, could one day be exporting as much as green hydrogen as it does minerals, according to a top government official. Speaking during a Continue Reading
Man fatally shot in Venezuela gasoline protest; second such incident this month
A man was shot and killed during a protest over gasoline shortages in eastern Venezuela on Saturday, officials and a local human rights group said, less than two weeks after Continue Reading
What’s Going on Inside the Fearsome Thunderstorms of Córdoba Province?
Nesbitt, who is a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, had dedicated much of the last 15 years to studying the freakish storms of this sleepy agricultural region. Continue Reading
Brazil’s Oil Giant To Boost Production At Deepwater Field
Brazil’s state-held oil firm Petrobras launched on Friday a tender for three new Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) units for one of the largest deepwater oilfields in the world, Continue Reading
The Quiet Destruction Of Colombia’s Shale Oil Potential
Sharply weaker oil prices, falling investment and dwindling oil production are weighing heavily on Colombia’s economic outlook. Last decade, the strife-torn Andean country bet its economic future on oil and Continue Reading
Venezuela’s diesel suppliers urge US not to block shipments crucial to power supply
rump administration has cracked down on gasoline imports Venezuelan refiners not able to meet domestic diesel demand Diesel distributed within Venezuela for free, unlike gasoline Washington — Suppliers of Venezuela’s Continue Reading
The World’s Newest Oil Boom Is Facing A Major Problem
After a series of major offshore oil discoveries since 2015, with the largest ever made earlier this year, the tiny South American country of Guyana has become a hotspot for Continue Reading
The last frontier: oil industry scales back exploration
Suriname may be one of the smallest countries in Latin America, with a population of fewer than 600,000 people, but off its coast lie potentially significant oil and gas deposits Continue Reading
Coronavirus Venezuela: Maduro blames migrants for outbreaks in Maracaibo; Zulia, Tachira, Apure
Venezuela — The “biological” threat was gathering on the western border, Venezuela’s socialist government claimed. So, besieged President Nicolás Maduro, ever vigilant against potential invasion, dispatched gun-toting reinforcements to the Continue Reading
Decision delays at ExxonMobil-led Guyana project may cut revenues to partners, country: consultants
Delays in sanctioning the ExxonMobil-led Payara project offshore Guyana could result in a gap of more than $1.5 billion of revenues for the project partners and the country if startup Continue Reading
US Treasury extends Venezuela order blocking potential Citgo seizure through October
The US Department of the Treasury on July 15 again extended for three months an order preventing creditors of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA from taking control of US refiner Continue Reading
Venezuela Restarts Gasoline Output At Only Operating Refinery
Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA has resumed gasoline production at the only operating refinery in the country home to the world’s largest oil reserves that is experiencing severe gasoline shortages, Continue Reading
U.S. Swaps Venezuelan Fuel Oil For Russian Products
The United States has been raising its imports of fuel oil from Russia over the past year and a half after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s exports, Reuters reported Continue Reading
U.S. Ups Pressure To Push Venezuela Oil Exports To Zero
The United States is pressing shippers, insurers, certification organizations, and flag states registering vessels not to work with Venezuela as the Trump Administration is looking to cut off Nicolas Maduro’s Continue Reading
PDVSA, Chevron restart production of crude in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt: technical report
Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA and US-based Chevron restarted production of extra-heavy crude in the Orinoco Belt at their Petropiar joint venture, which is operating at 72,000 b/d or 38% of capacity, Continue Reading
U.S., Libya Suspect Maduro-Haftar Gold Trade Scheme
The United States and Libya are probing a suspected scheme in which eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar is allegedly paying Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela U.S. dollars in exchange for Continue Reading
Venezuela Oil Minister Gets Covid-19 Days After Meeting Maduro
Venezuela’s Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami said he’s tested positive for Covid-19 five days after a televised meeting alongside President Nicolas Maduro. He is the second close ally of President Maduro Continue Reading
Exxon Restarts Drilling at Offshore Hotspot in Voting Crisis
Exxon Mobil Corp. resumed drilling in Guyana last month, underscoring its dedication to the offshore hotspot despite the oil price crash and a messy turn in local politics. Two of Exxon’s Continue Reading
Colombia’s Gamble On Oil Could End In Disaster
The latest oil price collapse coupled with the considerable economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has battered Colombia’s fragile economy. As the strife-torn Latin American country emerged from decades of Continue Reading