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Venezuela protests escalate as students, security forces clash

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan security forces and demonstrators faced off in streets blocked by burning barricades in several provincial cities on Thursday as protests escalated against President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government. At least five people have died since the unrest turned violent last week, with scores of injuries and arrests. The demonstrators, mostly students, blame the government for violent crime, high inflation, product shortages and alleged repression of opponents. They want Maduro to resign. In middle-class areas of Caracas overnight, security forces fired teargas and bullets, chasing youths who threw Molotov cocktails and blocked streets with burning trash. It was one of the worst bouts of violence the capital has seen in nearly three weeks of unrest across Venezuela, and trouble also flared in other urban centers. Many Caracas residents banged pots at windows in a traditional form of protest, and knots of demonstrators were out again early on […]

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Venezuela protesters, troops clash, death toll at six

Security forces and protesters fought around Venezuela on Thursday in streets blocked by burning barricades and a supporter of socialist President Nicolas Maduro was shot dead, the sixth fatality from more than a week of violence. Maduro said a "fascist bullet" killed Alexis Martinez, a brother of a ruling Socialist Party legislator, in the central city of Barquisimeto. A local journalist said Martinez was shot in the chest while passing an opposition protest. There have also been scores of injuries and arrests since the violence broke out eight days ago, the most serious unrest since Maduro was narrowly elected in April 2013. The protesters, mostly students, want Maduro to resign, and blame his government for violent crime, high inflation, shortages of goods and alleged repression of opponents. The most sustained clashes on Thursday were in the western Andean states of Tachira and Merida, which have been […]

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Protests Swell in Venezuela as Places to Rally Disappear

The only television station that regularly broadcast voices critical of the government was sold last year, and the new owners have softened its news coverage. Last week, President Nicolás Maduro banned a foreign cable news channel after it showed images of a young protester shot to death here. Opposition legislators have been barred from debates and stripped of committee posts in the National Assembly. And when an opposition leader called for a protest this week, Mr. Maduro scheduled his own march to start at the same spot and dispatched the National Guard to try to block protesters from rallying elsewhere. Venezuela is being convulsed by the biggest protests since the country’s longtime president, the charismatic Hugo Chávez, died nearly a […]

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142 Cities In Brazil Are Now Rationing Water As Drought Goes Critical

Did you know that the drought in Brazil is so bad that some neighborhoods are only being allowed to get water once every three days?  At this point, 142 Brazilian cities are rationing water and there does not appear to be much hope that this crippling drought is going to end any time soon.  Unfortunately, most Americans seem to be absolutely clueless about all of this. In response to the recent article about how the unprecedented drought that is plaguing California right now could affect our food supply, one individual left a comment stating “if Califirnia can’t supply South America will. We got NAFTA.”  Apart from the fact that this person could not even spell “California” correctly, we also see a complete ignorance of what is going on in the rest of the planet.  The truth is that the largest country in South […]

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Venezuela Renames Top Oil Reserve After Hugo Chavez

Venezuela on Tuesday renamed its largest crude reserve, traditionally known as the Orinoco Belt, after the country’s late socialist leader. "I’ve decided as of today to name it the Hugo Chavez Oil Belt," said President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s protege and successor, during a rally of oil workers. "Do you agree?" The crowd roared its approval. "The biggest oil reserve on the planet was rescued by our Commander Chavez," Maduro said, referring to his predecessor’s crusade to boost state control over natural resources. Chavez died last year after a 14-year rule in which he built up a cult following thanks to liberal spending of oil revenue that helped him win repeated elections. His detractors accuse him of squandering a decade-long windfall and leaving behind an economy weakened by state controls. The United States Geological Survey in 2010 estimated the area held 513 billion barrels […]

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Jailed leader channels Venezuelans’ ire

In a prerecorded video message released hours after his arrest , López urged Venezuelans to continue a campaign of “resistance” to force the resignation or recall of President Nicolás Maduro, a goal López calls “the Exit.” Seated on a sofa beside his wife and appealing directly to Venezuelan youth, López told viewers that what the country needed more than ever was for Venezuelans to make “a commitment for change.” “But that commitment can’t be passive,” he said. “It has to be active.” It was the kind of passionate, personal appeal and call to action that showed exactly why the Harvard-educated López has been at the center of the most serious challenge yet to the struggling Maduro, successor to the late Hugo Chávez. In a country floating atop the world’s largest oil reserves but facing worsening shortages of milk, medicines, toilet paper and other basic goods, many Venezuelans are angry, […]

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Venezuela unrest kills fifth person, Lopez faces court

A local beauty queen died of a bullet wound on Wednesday in the fifth fatality from Venezuela’s political unrest, as imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez urged supporters to keep fighting for the departure of the socialist government. College student and model Genesis Carmona, 22, was shot in the head during a protest on Tuesday in the central city of Valencia, and died in a clinic. "How long are we going to live like this? How long do we have to tolerate this pressure, with them killing us?" a relative, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. "She only needed one more semester to graduate," he added of Carmona, who had been studying tourism and had won the 2013 Miss Tourism competition in her state. Tensions have risen in Venezuela since Lopez, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist, surrendered to troops on Tuesday after spearheading three weeks of […]

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Lopez’s Arrest Sends Venezuelan Protests Into Second Week

Venezuela ’s opposition vowed to continue street demonstrations into a second week after National Guard troops arrested leader Leopoldo Lopez following protests that have left four people dead. The opposition Voluntad Popular party called on supporters to rally in downtown Caracas in front of the Palace of Justice at 10 a.m. local time (9:30 a.m. EST). Lopez was forced into a police vehicle yesterday while speaking to supporters after President Nicolas Maduro blamed him for instigating demonstrations over shortages of basic goods and 56 percent inflation in a country with the world’s biggest oil reserves. Related: “We are on the right side of history, on the side of justice, of truth,” Lopez, 42, said in a video that he recorded before his arrest. “Our cause has been and continues to be the departure of this government.” Confronting the biggest challenge to his 10-month-old presidency, Maduro announced plans to import […]

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Venezuela opposition leader surrenders, protesters flood streets

Venezuelan security forces arrested opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Tuesday on charges of fomenting unrest that has killed at least four people, bringing tens of thousands of his angry supporters onto the streets of Caracas. Crowds of white-clad protesters tried to block the vehicle carrying the 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist after he made a defiant speech, said an emotional farewell to his family, and gave himself up to soldiers. Opposition leaders hope Lopez’s arrest will galvanize street demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro, though there is no immediate sign the protests will topple the socialist leader. "I am handing myself over to an unfair justice system," the protest leader told supporters, standing on a platform next to a statue of Cuban poet and independence hero Jose Marti. "May my imprisonment serve to wake the people up." The crowd lifted his wife up to give him a final embrace […]

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Venezuelan Opposition Chief Surrenders, but Not Without a Rally

A prominent Venezuelan opposition leader surrendered to the authorities on Tuesday in the midst of a large crowd of supporters who tried to block his arrest on accusations that he was responsible for violence that erupted during recent antigovernment protests. Before giving himself up, the opposition politician, Leopoldo López , walked through a sea of thousands of supporters in the largest rally in more than two weeks of growing protests fueled by discontent over runaway violent crime, a stalled economy, government pressure on the news media and other issues. “We are living in a dark time when criminals are rewarded and they want to imprison the Venezuelans who want peaceful, democratic change,” Mr. López said, standing on the base […]

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Venezuela President Calls Allies to Rival Opposition Protest

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called supporters to take to the street tomorrow, hours after an opposition politician sought by police urged his allies to march with him on the same day. Leopoldo Lopez , the leader of opposition party Voluntad Popular, whom Maduro accuses of inciting violence, urged Venezuelans to dress in white and march with him on Tuesday, daring officials to enforce an arrest order issued against him. After Maduro responded by summoning a demonstration of 30,000 to 40,000 oil workers at the same location, Voluntad Popular today switched the site of their march. “I’ve not committed any crime,” Lopez said in a YouTube video posted on his Twitter account yesterday. “If there is a decision to illegally jail me, I’ll be there.” On Feb. 12, three people died and 66 were injured when protesters clashed with government supporters. The biggest demonstrations against Maduro’s administration since he was […]

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Venezuela leader expels US officials amid protests

AP Photo CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro’s government on Monday gave three U.S. Embassy officials 48 hours to leave the country, accusing the Obama administration of siding with student protesters who Venezuela accuses of inciting violence. The announcement by Foreign Minister Elias Jaua came amid fears that renewed clashes could erupt Tuesday when both pro- and anti-government activists have announced plans for demonstrations in the capital. Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said that the senior U.S. consular officers were trying to infiltrate Venezuelan universities, the hotbed of the recent unrest, under the cover of doing visa outreach. Repeating charges by Maduro, who has expelled American diplomats twice before, Jaua said that the U.S. is conspiring with opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and student activists in an attempt to oust the socialist president. The U.S. has denied the charges but is expressing concern about rising violence that led to three […]

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Ports, Shipping Companies Retool for Bigger Panama Canal

Shipbuilders are cranking out ever-bigger container vessels and the world’s major ports are dredging deeper, all on account of an ambitious multibillion-dollar project to widen the Panama Canal—an endeavor currently stalled by a contract dispute. More than just the canal is tangled up in the acrimonious battle between Panama and the builders over $1.6 billion in cost overruns. "There are many cities, countries and port authorities who are spending billions of dollars in anticipation of the traffic that will come from that newly expanded canal," said Adam Putnam, Florida’s commissioner of agriculture. "So, there will be an impact if there is an extended delay." The dispute so far has halted construction for two weeks and now threatens to delay the project by at least three years beyond the proposed completion date of December 2015. Negotiators say they are hopeful of a settlement as soon as Tuesday. Still, even […]

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Venezuela expels 3 US diplomats

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday ordered the expulsion of three U.S. Embassy officials who he said had been conspiring against his government. Maduro didn’t identify the consular officials, but said intelligence officials who tailed them for the past two months found evidence they were trying to infiltrate Venezuelan universities, a hotbed of recent unrest, under the cover of doing visa outreach. Foreign Minister Elias Jaua is scheduled to provide more details Monday. Triggering the expulsion was the Obama administration’s siding with opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who is being hunted by police as Maduro accuses him of leading a "fascist" plot to oust the socialist government two months after it won mayoral elections by a landslide. Maduro said State Department official Alex Lee, in a phone conversation with Venezuela’s ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States, warned that arresting Lopez would bring serious negative consequences with international ramifications. […]

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Venezuelan Opposition Leader Says He Will Risk Arrest

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who hasn’t appeared in public since a state dragnet was launched for his capture last week, vowed in a video message Sunday that he would march with antigovernment protesters in the coming days and face arrest. Thousands of antigovernment demonstrators filled the streets for a fourth consecutive day Sunday since a deadly march claimed three lives last week. State authorities have accused Mr. Lopez of plotting the bloodshed to spark a U.S.-backed coup. In a video posted on the website YouTube, Mr. Lopez called for a new protest on Tuesday, which he said he would lead to the Interior and Justice Ministry, setting the stage for his possible apprehension. "I have nothing to fear, I have not committed any crime," he said in the brief video. "If there is some decision to illegally arrest me, well that is where I will be." There was […]

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Venezuela frees some student protesters, unrest continues

Venezuelan authorities freed 25 student protesters on Friday pending trial and said that 74 others arrested after this week’s deadly political turmoil would be processed within hours. Demonstrators gathered in various cities as they have done since Wednesday. In a more affluent part of eastern Caracas, police used teargas and water cannons to clear a square of about 1,000 protesters, some of whom lit fires and threw stones at the security forces. The protesters also briefly blocked a major highway nearby, denouncing President Nicolas Maduro over a litany of grievances including the repression of demonstrations since three people were shot dead this week following an opposition-led march. Speaking at a televised event in the city center alongside top officials from the ruling Socialist Party and pro-government sports stars and entertainers, Maduro said he would not let the protesters cause chaos by closing important arteries. "I’m not […]

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Venezuela’s Leader Pulls Foreign Channel Over Protest Coverage

; Venezuela’s president said that a Colombia-based cable news channel was ordered to be removed from cable lineups in Venezuela because of its coverage of an antigovernment protest. President Nicolás Maduro said Thursday that the channel, NTN24, had tried to “foment anxiety about a coup d’état.” He said that he gave the order to pull the channel because “No one is going to come from abroad and try to perturb the psychological climate of Venezuela.” It was removed on Wednesday, the same day that thousands of people rallied in the capital, Caracas, in the largest antigovernment protest in months. After the rally, a few hundred youths rioted, throwing rocks at the police and government buildings. Two opposition protesters and a man identified as a government supporter were shot to death during the unrest, which Mr. Maduro said was part of a coup attempt. NTN24 is seen as […]

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Apache, YPF deal in Argentina a win-win

U.S. energy company Apache Corp. said it was selling off its operations in Argentina to better focus on drilling operations in North America. Apache and its subsidiaries agreed to sell all operations in the country to YPF Sociedad Anonima for $800 million cash plus the assumption of $52 million of bank debt. G. Steven Farris, chairman and chief executive officer at Apache, said the company spent much of the year focusing on shaping its portfolio to enhance its "deep inventory" in North America. "This transaction is consistent with that strategy," he said in a statement Wednesday. Apache said it averaged 256 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in terms of production and estimates its reserves in Argentina at approximately 540 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Miquel Galuccio, president of YPF, said the acquisition is an "excellent opportunity" for his company, already […]

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At least two killed by gunfire at Venezuela protests

At least two people were shot dead on Wednesday during anti-government protests in Caracas, escalating the worst bout of unrest in Venezuela since turmoil after President Nicolas Maduro’s election last year. The violence was a crescendo to weeks of sporadic demonstrations in the provinces led by opposition hardliners who denounce Maduro for failing to control inflation, crime and product shortages and vow to push him from office. The government says the opposition is sowing violence to stage a coup similar to the one a decade ago that briefly ousted late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, though there are few signs that the current melees could topple Maduro. The country’s top prosecutor confirmed the death of a student and a pro-government community leader amid chaotic scenes as marches by opposition and government sympathizers ended just a few blocks apart in the city center. Maduro said another student suffered […]

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3 killed as Venezuelan protests turn violent

As people fled in panic, one demonstrator fell to the ground with a bullet wound in his head. Onlookers screamed “assassins” as they rushed the 24-year-old marketing student to a police vehicle. He was later identified by family members as Bassil Da Costa. Also killed was the leader of a pro-government 23rd of January collective, as militant supporters of Venezuela’s socialist administration call themselves. National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello said the “revolutionary” known by his nickname Juancho was “vilely assassinated by the fascists” but he didn’t provide details. The troubles moved eastward to the wealthier neighborhood of Chacao after nightfall, leaving another unidentified demonstrator dead from a bullet wound, district Mayor Ramon Muchacho said via Twitter. Calm returned as midnight approached, leaving smoldering trash cans strewn along several blocks where demonstrators threw rocks at government buildings. The unrest comes on the heels of a wave of increasingly violent, student-led […]

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Venezuelan anti-government protests turn violent

Venezuelan security forces fired rubber bullets into the air Wednesday to break up a crowd of activists following the largest protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s government since he was re-elected almost a year ago. Five people were killed during standoffs including a police officer, two student demonstrators and a member of militant community groups known as "colectivos," according to local media. Twenty-five people have been injured during the protests. The fatalities came at the end of rival demonstrations to support and denounce Maduro’s government. Under the banner "The Exit," meaning Maduro’s departure, hard line opposition groups have been holding protests around the country for the past two weeks, to complain about rampant crime, corruption and economic hardships. "All of these problems — shortages, inflation, insecurity, the lack of opportunities — have a single culprit: the government," Leopoldo Lopez, a Harvard University-trained former mayor, told a crowd of about 10,000 […]

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Panama Canal chief reports progress in dispute

Panama Canal Administrator Jorge Quijano says the agency has reached tentative agreement on some issues in efforts to resolve a dispute that has halted work on a major expansion plan. But Quijano also says the Authority might take over the project if no final agreement with the contractors is reached this week. He spoke Wednesday during a chamber of commerce meeting. The contractors say work has gone $1.6 billion over budget and they have demanded the authority pay. The dispute has threatened to delay the biggest expansion of the canal since it opened a century ago. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Latest News Latest Winter Games News ©2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Terms under which this site is provided. […]

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Panama Canal Expansion on 'Brink of Failure' Due to Financing Dispute

Work to expand the Panama Canal so bigger ships can fit through the 100-year-old waterway has virtually ground to a halt, and the consortium in charge of the construction effort said the project is now on the "brink of failure" after talks broke down between the contractors and Panama’s government over who is going to pay for $1.6 billion in cost overruns. The storied canal, built by American engineers, is among the world’s most vital shipping routes, acting as a shortcut between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that shaves nearly two weeks off travel times for ships that otherwise would need to travel around South America at Cape Horn. But the canal has become too narrow for the world’s ever-larger ships, including those hauling products such as natural gas and other fuels. Countries including the U.S., which is fast becoming a net exporter of natural gas as it uses […]

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Panama Canal Expansion on ‘Brink of Failure’ Due to Financing Dispute

Work to expand the Panama Canal so bigger ships can fit through the 100-year-old waterway has virtually ground to a halt, and the consortium in charge of the construction effort said the project is now on the "brink of failure" after talks broke down between the contractors and Panama’s government over who is going to pay for $1.6 billion in cost overruns. The storied canal, built by American engineers, is among the world’s most vital shipping routes, acting as a shortcut between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that shaves nearly two weeks off travel times for ships that otherwise would need to travel around South America at Cape Horn. But the canal has become too narrow for the world’s ever-larger ships, including those hauling products such as natural gas and other fuels. Countries including the U.S., which is fast becoming a net exporter of natural gas as it uses […]

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At markets, Chavez successor falls short

“This is so depressing,” said Maria Plaza, 30, a lawyer, an hour and a half into her wait. “Pathetic.” Depressing, in an otherwise bright, modern supermarket that sells $100 bottles of Spanish wine, Jack Daniel’s whiskey and organic rice puffs. Pathetic, in a country with the world’s largest petroleum reserves and oil prices at nearly $95 a barrel, yet unable to supply basic goods because of its crumbling local currency and a shortage of U.S. dollars. “Soon we’ll be using newspaper, just like they do in Cuba!” said an elderly man nearby, inching forward in line. “Yeah! Like Cuba!” others shouted. The fate of Venezuela’s revolution, it seems, will be decided at the supermarket. Nearly a year after Chávez’s death of complications from cancer at age 58, his hand­picked successor, Nicolás Maduro, is struggling to contain food shortages, spiraling inflation and rampant crime. The arrival of basic staples such […]

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Peru Moving Forward With Energy Project Despite Concern for Native Tribes

Peru is pushing forward with an expansion of the country’s biggest natural gas project despite concerns about its potential impact on indigenous tribes living deep inside a remote Amazon reserve. The Mines and Energy Ministry this week approved a key environmental permit that will allow the Camisea consortium to carry out a $480 million exploration program at its Block 88 concession. The consortium, led by Argentina’s Pluspetrol Norte SA, plans to drill 18 exploration wells and conduct seismic testing in a part of the concession that overlaps with the Kugapakori-Nahua-Nanti indigenous reserve. President Ollanta Humala’s administration is keen on finding new reserves at the Camisea gas fields, which are an important source of tax revenue and seen as a supply of low-cost fuel for the national market. The consortium paid $1.3 billion in royalties in 2013. Camisea produces almost all of Peru’s natural gas from Block 88 and […]

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Venezuela Oil Sales to U.S. at 1985-Low Shows China Cost

Venezuelan energy sales to the U.S. are heading for the lowest levels in 28 years as President Nicolas Maduro steps up shipments to his main lender China and the shale boom floods North American refineries. Venezuelan exports of crude and petroleum products to the U.S. averaged 792,000 barrels a day in the first 11 months of 2013, which would be the lowest annual rate since 1985, according to data published yesterday on the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s website. State-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA is sending hundreds of thousands of barrels a day to China to pay back government loans. At the same time, refiners along the U.S. Gulf Coast are sourcing more domestic supply as a surge in drilling shale rock sends output to the highest in a quarter-century. “ Venezuela is losing out by selling crude to China, which is a market where they are netting back a […]

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Venezuela Oil Exports to U.S. Hit Lowest Rate Since 1985

Venezuela ’s annual oil exports to the U.S. are on track to reach a 28-year low as the South American country faces declining production, rising domestic demand and increased shipments to China . Venezuelan exports of oil and petroleum products to the U.S. have averaged 792,000 barrels a day in the first 11 months of 2013, the lowest annual rate seen since 1985, according to data through November published by the U.S.-based Energy Information Administration on its website today. Petroleos de Venezuela SA , the state-run oil company , sends hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day to China to pay back loans for billions of dollars made to Venezuela’s government. The company’s production, which averaged 2.9 million barrels a day in 2012, according to the company’s annual report for that year, averaged 2.45 million barrels a day in December last year, a Bloomberg survey showed. “Venezuela […]

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Argentina’s Shale Industry Lures International Oil Companies

More The whole world knows that shale revolutionized the U.S. energy industry. Now oil and gas executives are salivating when they think of Argentina’s booming shale industry. Argentina ranks second in the world, behind China, in potentially recoverable shale-gas reserves, with 802 trillion cubic feet, according to a study last October by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Argentina also ranks fourth in shale oil with an estimated 27 billion barrels. In July, YPF and Chevron inked a deal to spend $1.2 billion to further develop shale oil and gas resources in the Vaca Muerta  formation. The deal calls for an initial phase in which 100 wells will be drilled in a 5,000-acre tract in the Loma La Lata Norte and Loma Campana areas. Chevron said the deal gives it the chance to grow production beyond its 2017 target of 3.3 million barrels per day. Chevron says shale will help […]

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Argentina's Shale Industry Lures International Oil Companies

More The whole world knows that shale revolutionized the U.S. energy industry. Now oil and gas executives are salivating when they think of Argentina’s booming shale industry. Argentina ranks second in the world, behind China, in potentially recoverable shale-gas reserves, with 802 trillion cubic feet, according to a study last October by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Argentina also ranks fourth in shale oil with an estimated 27 billion barrels. In July, YPF and Chevron inked a deal to spend $1.2 billion to further develop shale oil and gas resources in the Vaca Muerta  formation. The deal calls for an initial phase in which 100 wells will be drilled in a 5,000-acre tract in the Loma La Lata Norte and Loma Campana areas. Chevron said the deal gives it the chance to grow production beyond its 2017 target of 3.3 million barrels per day. Chevron says shale will help […]

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Shell sells stake in Brazilian field for $1bn

Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell a stake in one of its Brazilian offshore assets to Qatar’s state-owned oil and gas company for $1bn. The disposal of a 23 per cent share in Parque das Conchas project, also dubbed BC-10, to Qatari Petroleum International comes with the Anglo-Dutch major expected to step up efforts to raise cash in 2014 and 2015. Shell, Europe’s largest oil company by market value, has been accused by investors of spending too much in recent years and Ben van Beurden, new chief executive, who took the reins at the start of this year, is under pressure to improve capital discipline. As part of that, Shell is expected to sell some $15bn worth of assets over the next two years in one of the largest disposal programmes in its history. Already this year it has announced the sale of a […]

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Shell Sells Stake in Offshore Brazil Oilfield for $1 Billion

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) sold part of its stake in an offshore Brazil oilfield as Europe’s largest oil company steps up disposals to offset capital spending. Shell agreed to sell a 23 percent stake in the Parque das Conchas field, or BC-10, to Qatar Petroleum International Ltd. for about $1 billion, it said in a statement today. The Hague-based company will retain a 50 percent stake and will continue to operate the field, it said. Shell is selling assets to bring down its net capital investment, or spending on projects adjusted for acquisitions and disposals, which climbed to a record $45 billion last year. Shell issued its first profit warning in a decade this month, saying fourth-quarter earnings will be about half those of a year earlier as the cost of projects rises. The BC-10 field is currently producing about 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. The […]

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Ecuador, China advance refinery plans

China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and the Ecuadorean government have reached an agreement regarding cooperation in a plan to construct a long-delayed refinery on Ecuador’s Pacific Coast ( OGJ Online, Feb. 4, 2008 ). On Jan. 21, Ecuador’s Vice-President Jorge Glas and CNCP Chairman Zhou Jiping reached a joint-approval of the feasibility report for the Refineria del Pacifico (RDP), according to a release from Ecuador’s government. During a second meeting on Jan. 23, Glas further solidified the deal with representatives of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, who expressed an interest in handling financing for CNPC in the refinery project , Glas said. This latest arrangement, for which no official financial details have been disclosed, follows the signing of June 2013 of a framework agreement between Ecuador and CNCPC on integrated cooperation in developing RDP. While no firm timetable was available regarding final funding for RDP, once realized, the […]

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Airlines halt ticket sales in Venezuela

Tempers flared at airline offices in Caracas on Friday as Venezuelans reacted angrily to international carriers’ refusal to sell tickets after the government devalued the bolivar for flights abroad. The offices of American Airlines, Delta, United and Panama’s Copa were all either closed or had halted sales on Friday as the higher exchange rate took effect, adding to uncertainty as carriers try to collect $3.3 billion they say they’re owed by the socialist government. "Don’t waste your time," a United representative, sticking her head out from behind a closed glass door, told a group of 10 waiting customers standing outside a ticket office at Caracas’ Centro Lido shopping mall. "It’s out of our hands. We can’t sell any more tickets." When customers protested that they’d never experience such poor service in the US, the agent, who didn’t identify herself by name, said "our […]

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Venezuela Bonds Slide as Economic Measures Deemed Insufficient

Venezuelan bonds fell hard Thursday, a day after the government announced a partial currency devaluation seen largely as insufficient to resolve the oil-rich country’s growing economic challenges. Economists said the government’s plan to sell more dollars to Venezuelans at a weaker exchange rate against the dollar would produce a marginal difference in its fiscal deficit, and likely prompt the central bank to continue printing the bolivar currency. That is likely to potentially exacerbate an inflation rate that is already at 56%, one of the world’s highest. Economy Vice Minister Rafael Ramirez, who also heads the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, said Thursday that private companies would also be allowed to sell dollars. But details of the plan are scant, and observers said there was little indication that the state would do much to ease its rigid dollar controls. "It’s a case of too little, too […]

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U.S. Fuel Shipments to Latin America Surge on Wealth Gain

Latin American nations are poised to accelerate imports of U.S. refined-oil products after failing to build refineries to meet demand from a growing middle class. Freight traders booked tankers to send 19 million metric tons of fuels from the U.S. to Latin America in the spot market last year, 5.4 percent more than in 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Volumes may rise again because demand is expanding and no new regional refining capacity will be added in the short term, according to Houston-based Hart Energy Research & Consulting. While growth in some Latin American economies slowed in 2013, the region has outpaced the world for the past seven years, helping lift more than 50 million people out of poverty. For the first time there are more Latin Americans classified as middle class than poor, according to a 2012 study by the World Bank . Lower […]

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For Venezuela, the magic land of cheap gas, a big hike

Gasoline is so dirt-cheap in this country that the comparison undervalues dirt. Or, for that matter, almost any other element Venezuelan drivers can think of. “It’s cheaper than water,” said one motorist, pointing out that bottled water costs far more than the 95-octane gasoline gushing into his Ford Explorer. Click Here to View Full Graphic Story “Cheaper than air,” said the driver of a Chevy Tahoe, after paying more to fill a tire than the tank. “The cheapest in the world,” a third SUV owner boasted. “We could wash our hands with it.” And why not? Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves, and its government sets the price of premium gasoline at about 5 cents a gallon. Its real price — adjusted to the soaring street value of the U.S. dollar — is half a penny per gallon. Unlimited access to virtually free gasoline […]

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Panama Canal Expansion: Standoff Worries Locals

ABOARD THE MAERSK BATAM, On the Panama Canal—Everything about this Danish-flagged ship is big. It is longer than two football fields, as high as a seven-story building and carries 3,000 cargo containers weighing 30,000 tons. But as shipyards from India to Korea continue to build vessels that are longer, wider and taller, the Maersk Batam actually is a midsize ship. Some people even call it small. "Not that there’s anything wrong with smaller ships," says Capt. Mike Hands, a Briton who has spent 40 of his 57 years working on ships. "Smaller ships go to smaller ports, which are always more interesting," he says, as the Batam begins its 10-hour passage through the Panama Canal. Interesting isn’t what the Panama Canal is about. Panama’s government has kicked off a multibillion-dollar project to widen the canal’s navigation channels and build larger locks—the pools of water that lift boats from sea […]

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Panama Canal expansion project: Have American fears come true?

A view of Panama canal construction work on August 20, 2013. The US has a lot riding on a successful expansion of the Panama canal More than four years ago, when Panama awarded the lucrative contract to expand its inter-oceanic canal to a mostly European consortium, the United States was not pleased. An American company whose bid was unsuccessful, Bechtel, thought the winning tender would barely pay for pouring the concrete and that the consortium would probably try to renegotiate the price at some stage during the construction process. Some might argue that those American doubts have been justified, especially in view of the ongoing economic row between the European consortium and the Panamanian government agency that runs the waterway. The spat has threatened to bring work to a grinding halt , unless the two parties manage to resolve a $1.6bn (£1bn) dispute over cost overruns. A series of […]

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Petrovietnam Suspends Venezuela Oil Production

Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, or Petrovietnam, has suspended production of crude oil at a block in Venezuela, citing a tough economic conditions. "Basically, we are just slowing things down, and we haven’t decided to withdraw from the project yet," said Pham Ngoc Khue, head of the investment and development division of PVEP, the Petrovietnam unit that jointly operates the Junin-2 block in Venezuela’s Orinoco belt with Petróleos de Venezuela SA. "The investment environment there is not suitable for us right now—and even for several other foreign investors," Mr. Khue said Tuesday. PVEP previously said the project started producing oil in October 2012, with an initial target of 200,000 barrels of crude a day by 2016. The block is Petrovietnam’s only operation in Venezuela. A Petrovietnam official said on condition of anonymity that skyrocketing inflation in Venezuela makes the cost of doing business there too high. Consumer prices in […]

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Talks Fail to Resolve Dispute Over Panama Canal Expansion Costs

The Panama Canal Authority and a consortium of international companies overseeing a multibillion-dollar construction project to widen the canal met on Tuesday but failed to resolve a dispute over huge cost overruns that threaten to derail the historic undertaking. The Panama Canal opened in the summer of 1914, and 100 years later the 50-mile waterway is two-thirds of the way through a massive expansion project that would allow ever-larger ships to pass through. The project could quadruple the government’s $1 billion in annual revenue, which comes mostly from toll charges. But GUPC, the consortium of construction firms led by Spain’s Sacyr SA SCYR.MC -2.42% Sacyr S.A. Spain: Madrid € 3.46 -0.09 -2.42% Jan. 8, 2014 12:12 pm Volume : 7.42M P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap €1.58 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee €153,727 01/07/14 Talks Fail to Resolve Dispute … 01/06/14 Spanish Official in Panama to … 01/02/14 […]

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Brazil’s big oil dreams begin to sour

“It’s funny, a few years ago, everybody loved Brazil,” said Roger Tissot, a veteran consultant on Latin America energy. “And now it seems the love is gone.” Brazil once saw itself as an up-and-coming oil power that would help meet the world’s demand, but it now faces a hard reality and might have to scale back its pretensions, former energy officials, oil executives and advisers say. The country’s deep-sea bonanza has suddenly become less alluring to big, rich oil companies that had been excited about Brazil. Other promising prospects around the world have emerged instead, from fields in Africa to the shale deposits unlocked by hydraulic fracking in the United States to the tar sands of Canada. “These companies have the financial muscle and engineering capacity and technologies to move around the world,” said Ramon Espinasa, an oil specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington. “They are able […]

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Companies drill for more oil in Argentina

A successful oil exploration program in Argentina should lead to a promising development opportunity, Andes Energia’s Alejandro Jotayan said Monday. Jotayan, chief executive officer of the company based in London, said its partners at YPF, an energy company in Argentina, started the exploration campaign in the Vaca Muerta, Chachao and Agrio reserve areas in the Neuquen basin. "A successful program will provide Andes and YPF with the opportunity to develop a large and promising area with unconventional and conventional resources potential," he said in a statement published by energy news website Rigzone. Andes said the exploration campaign targets an area already shown to contain oil. Energy consultant group Wood Mackenzie described the Vaca Muerta region as one of the best shale reserve areas in the world. Vaca Muerta, located in Neuquen province, holds 741 million barrels of recoverable oil, the U.S. Energy Information Administration […]

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Petrobras declares commercial potential of two offshore fields

Brazil’s Petrobras energy company said it sent notices to the Brazilian government advising that two offshore oil and gas prospects have commercial potential. Petrobas, formally known as Petroleo Brasileiro, said Thursday it submitted declarations of the commercial potential of the Franco and Sul de Tupi prospects in the energy-rich Santos Basin to the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency. Petrobas estimated the Franco prospect, which it wants to rename as the Buzios field, contains about 3.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Petrobras said it expects to have five production systems started in the field by 2020. The Sul de Tupi, which the company wants to name the Sul de Lula field, may contain as much as 128 million barrels of oil equivalent, the company said. Petrobas said first oil should come from the Sul de Lula field by the first quarter […]

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Venezuela to raise domestic gas prices?

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled he wants to raise gasoline prices, which are considered among the cheapest in the world at about 5 cents a gallon. "Without a doubt there’s a distortion that we need to correct," Maduro said Wednesday, in reference to the country’s highly subsidized gasoline. His comments came during a rare meeting with opposition political leaders, the Wall Street Journal reports. While the government should continue offering "special" prices for the domestic market, the president said, the subsidy "should be an advantage, not a disadvantage." The gasoline subsidy costs Venezuela about $12.5 billion a year. The president spoke of a "plan that should take us some three years for setting prices of hydrocarbons and their derivatives in the national market." Maduro added it should be a "progressive plan with national consensus." Violent riots erupted the last time the Venezuelan government […]

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BP to Write Off $1 Billion on Failed Well

BP PLC said Wednesday it would write off more than $1 billion in costs related to an unsuccessful Brazilian well, but also said it made a large oil discovery in the deep water Gulf of Mexico. BP said the Pitanga exploration well on Block BM-CAOL-13 in the Camamu-Almada basin, offshore Brazil, found no commercial quantities of oil or gas. The company said it would therefore write off $1.08 billion in costs, of which $850 million relates to the value of the block […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BP to Write Off $1 Billion on Failed Well

BP PLC said Wednesday it would write off more than $1 billion in costs related to an unsuccessful Brazilian well, but also said it made a large oil discovery in the deep water Gulf of Mexico. BP said the Pitanga exploration well on Block BM-CAOL-13 in the Camamu-Almada basin, offshore Brazil, found no commercial quantities of oil or gas. The company said it would therefore write off $1.08 billion in costs, of which $850 million relates to the value of the […]

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Ecuadoreans Can Attempt to Seize Chevron's Canada Assets

Ecuadoreans trying to collect a $9.5 billion environmental verdict against Chevron Corp. can attempt to seize the oil giant’s assets in Canada, a Canadian appellate court ruled on Tuesday. The plaintiffs, residents of Ecuador’s jungles, are seeking to enforce a 2011 judgment against Chevron by confiscating its properties in other countries where it operates. In May, a lower court in Ontario held that the Ecuadorean judgment didn’t […]

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Ecuadoreans Can Attempt to Seize Chevron’s Canada Assets

Ecuadoreans trying to collect a $9.5 billion environmental verdict against Chevron Corp. can attempt to seize the oil giant’s assets in Canada, a Canadian appellate court ruled on Tuesday. The plaintiffs, residents of Ecuador’s jungles, are seeking to enforce a 2011 judgment against Chevron by confiscating its properties in other countries where it operates. In May, a lower court in Ontario held that the Ecuadorean judgment didn’t […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple