LatAmOil - Latin America Oil & Gas

Eni and partners report oil discovery at Saasken prospect offshore Mexico

Italy’s Eni and its partners have reported the discovery of new crude oil reserves at Saasken, a prospect within Block 10 offshore Mexico.

Head of Pemex outlines new rules for awarding oilfield service contracts

Mexico’s national oil company (NOC) Pemex appears to have introduced a new procedure for awarding oilfield service contracts related to high-priority upstream projects.

Venezuela reportedly sending more fuel to Cuba

Venezuela’s national oil company (NOC) PdVSA has stepped up tanker shipments to Cuba in a bid to alleviate shortages of refined fuels in the latter country.

ConocoPhilips to begin exploring Vaca Muerta blocks this year

ConocoPhilips said last week that it would begin exploration work later this year at several licence areas in Argentina

I Squared Capital takes stake in Colombia’s Ocensa crude pipeline

Florida-based investment manager I Squared Capital has acquired a minority stake in Colombia’s Oleoducto Central SA (Ocensa) crude oil pipeline from Advent International, a Boston-based private equity firm, for an undisclosed sum.

Guyana prepares to export first cargo of Liza crude

Guyana is reportedly gearing up to export its first cargo of crude oil from the Liza section of the Stabroek offshore block.

Venezuela backs OPEC proposal to cut crude output

Venezuela recently declared its support for an advisory panel’s recommendation that OPEC and its allies reduce crude oil output by 600,000 barrels per day.

Further down the chain

Exmar’s troubles with Tango FLNG highlight the potential for coronavirus to cause trouble in every corner of the oil and gas industry.

Peru LNG reports exports down in January

Peru LNG, the operator of a natural gas liquefaction plant and export terminal in Pampa Melchorita, saw its export volumes decline year on year in the first month of 2020.

ExxonMobil arranges to use Noble drillships in Guyana-Suriname Basin

Noble, a UK-based offshore drilling contractor, has won a contract from the US super-major ExxonMobil for work in the Guyana-Suriname Basin offshore South America.

Brazilian-Mexican JV begins importing US-produced ethane

Braskem Idesa SAPI, a joint venture formed by two Latin American firms, has reportedly begun taking delivery of US-produced ethane at its Nanchital petrochemical complex in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

CNH ready to intervene in Zama dispute

Talks on the fate of the Zama oilfield appear to be stalling, and CNH may be asked to intervene.

Brazil’s Odebrecht takes Peru to arbitration over $2bn pipeline

The Brazilian construction company Odebrecht is taking the Peruvian government to arbitration court over a failed $2bn investment in Gasoducto Sur Peruano (GSP), a $6bn natural gas pipeline project.

Former Petrobras trader concludes plea bargain agreement with prosecutors

A former oil trader at the Brazilian state-run energy major Petrobras has reportedly signed a plea bargain agreement with Brazilian prosecutors who are investigating bribery allegations at the firm.

Shell, Equinor take 49% stake in Vaca Muerta block

Anglo-Dutch major Royal Dutch Shell and its partner, the Norwegian energy firm Equinor, recently completed their joint acquisition of a 49% interest in the Bandurria Sur onshore block, located in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale basin.

GeoPark makes new gas discovery in Chile’s onshore Fell block

Independent oil and gas explorer GeoPark has reported the discovery of new natural gas reserves at Jauke Oeste, a new field within Chile’s onshore Fell block.

Frontera makes first gas discovery in Colombia’s Lower Magdalena Valley

Canada’s Frontera Energy and its partner Parex Resources have made their first natural gas discovery in Colombia’s Lower Magdalena Valley.

Oil prices hit by inability to come up with a plan to deal with Coronavirus

US may be gearing up to impose additional sanctions on Venezuela

Chevron's position in Venezuela may be vulnerable, as the US is contemplating further sanctions.

Pemex lobbying for largest share of offshore Zama oilfield

Mexico’s national oil company (NOC) Pemex has contested US-based Talos Energy’s claim to the largest portion of Zama, a major offshore field discovered in the Gulf of Mexico in 2015.

Tullow, partners raise resource estimate for Orinduik block

A new report raises the gross prospective resource estimate for the Orinduik block, located offshore Guyana, by 29%.

Colombia’s Ecopetrol signs up to global anti-gas flaring initiative

Colombia’s state-owned oil and gas company Ecopetrol has joined a World Bank-led global initiative to stop routine gas flaring at its operations.

Petrobras sees reserves drop to 9.56bn boe after divestments

Petrobras has said that its proven reserves fell to 9.56bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2019, down from 9.606bn boe in the previous year.

Ecuador to call international tender this year for gas imports

Ecuador is going to call an international tender this year in an effort to import around 90mn cubic feet (2.55mn cubic metres) per day of gas from private companies for a period of at least four years.

Shell, Equinor acquire 49% of Vaca Muerta block

Royal Dutch Shell and its partner Equinor have completed their joint acquisition of a 49% interest in the Bandurria Sur onshore block, located in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale basin.