LatAmOil - Latin America Oil & Gas

US intercepts 90 Cuba-bound biodiesel shipments worth nearly $3mn

US authorities intercepted 90 shipments of biodiesel bound for Cuba, worth nearly $3mn and containing more than 600,000 gallons, in Houston and South Florida before the cargo left the country, as Washington steps up enforcement of sanctions on Havana

Oil overtakes soybeans as Brazil's top export in 2026

Crude oil has replaced soybeans as Brazil's biggest export so far this year, helped by higher volumes and prices.

TechnipFMC wins Petrobras flexible pipe contract for pre-salt fields

TechnipFMC has won a contract worth $75-250mn from Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras to supply flexible pipe systems for offshore developments.

Ecuador's heavy crudes sink to record discounts as freight costs and rival barrels bite

Ecuadorean heavy sour crudes fell to record-wide discounts to WTI on October 6, as higher freight rates and stiff competition from similar-quality grades weighed on prices.

Valaris wins $220mn in Suriname, Australia, North Sea deals

Offshore driller Valaris (NYSE: VAL) has booked roughly $220mn of new backlog since its August fleet update, winning fresh contracts and extensions in Suriname, Australia and the North Sea.

Mexico's private gasoline imports fall as Pemex pricing bites

Private gasoline imports into Mexico fell 34% year on year in August as delivered fuel costs climbed 45%.

Chevron names CFO to unit that includes Guyana

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) has appointed its chief financial officer, Eimear Bonner, to run its Oil, Products & Gas division, a business that includes the US major's stake in Guyana's Stabroek Block.

Rockhopper commits $44mn to second oil vessel for Falklands Sea Lion project

Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration has agreed to invest $44mn in a second floating production, storage and offloading vessel for the Sea Lion oil project near the Falkland Islands (also known as Malvinas)

Argentina vows to block Falklands offshore oil development, foreign minister says

Argentina will seek to prevent offshore oil development around the Falkland Islands (also known as Malvinas) as part of President Javier Milei's strategy to pursue the country's sovereignty claim through peaceful means, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno

Rockhopper shares fall nearly 20% as Falklands' Sea Lion project faces rising pressure

Shares in British oil company Rockhopper Exploration fell as much as 20% in London after the company confirmed the departure of two contractors from its Sea Lion project in the Falkland Islands, as legal pressure from Argentina grows.

Venezuela advances gas plans with BP as Shell eyes Loran opportunities

Venezuela is stepping up planning for its natural-gas sector, with the hydrocarbons ministry and BP Exploration Caribbean Limited reviewing development work at the Cocuina field as they prepare an operational roadmap for 2027

Petrobras, Ecopetrol wrap up Colombia’s largest deepwater drilling campaign

Petrobras and Ecopetrol have completed the largest deepwater exploration campaign in Colombia’s Caribbean, drilling five wells over two and a half years at a cost of about $1bn, the companies said

Colombia exports rise 12.8% on oil and mining as farm sales slide

Petroecuador restarts SOTE pipeline pumping after Baeza station fire

State oil company EP Petroecuador has resumed pumping through the Trans-Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline System (SOTE) on October 5, after an emergency caused by a fire at the Baeza pumping station in Napo province on October 1, El Universo reported.

Bolivia's YPFB steps up fuel deliveries and blocks plates of repeat-fill vehicles

Bolivia's state oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) has raised the volume of petrol and diesel supplied to filling stations in all nine departments.

Brazil’s election run-off to help decide Petrobras’ future

Brazil’s presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro offers sharply different visions for state-controlled Petrobras and the role of government.

Venezuelans in no mood to dance despite Trump's oil bonanza

Nine months after the US removed Nicolas Maduro, a sweeping oil pact with Washington has done little to ease hardship at home or bring elections closer.

Colombia deploys 1,200-person task force against fuel theft and ELN

ExxonMobil targets Trinidad and Tobago for next oil boom

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) wants to repeat its Guyana oil and gas success in the waters off Trinidad and Tobago, its global exploration chief said in an interview.

Gas production emerges as a focus for foreign companies in Venezuela

Halliburton rules out work on the Falklands’ Sea Lion project, drilling to begin in early 2027

US oilfield services company Halliburton has ruled out any involvement in the Sea Lion oil project near the Falkland Islands, saying it has consulted Argentine federal authorities over potential criminal and civil enforcement.

Guyana's energy future could be shaped by Brazil's election as border controversy takes centre-stage

The outcome of Brazil’s presidential election could shape the outcome of Guyana’s border dispute with Venezuela, an issue that directly threatens Guyana’s oil and gas future.

Brazil opens new areas for Equatorial Margin exploration

Brazil’s oil regulator ANP has mapped 501 new exploratory blocks across 11 sectors of the Equatorial Margin, expanding the area available for potential oil and gas exploration.

India’s BPCL plans $3bn bond for Brazil oil project

Norway’s Hydro faces up to $210mn cost in Brazil

Norway’s Norsk Hydro expects its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil to face a financial impact of as much as $210mn in the second half of 2026 because of disruptions to contracted natural gas supplies.