President Rafael Correa of Ecuador has announced that Ecuador will keep 99 percent of windfall oil profits, changing a law that called for a 50-50 share with foreign oil companies of profits stemming from rising oil prices. By a new decree “it is established that 99 percent of the windfall oil profits will go to … Read More
Latin American oil
CGI Highlights Yasuni Proposal to Leave Oil Alone
Some good news for a change. Yesterday the Clinton Global Initiative highlighted the Ecuadorian proposal about “Leaving Ecuador’s Oil in the Ground” which seeks to avoid carbon emissions and save the Yasuni Rainforest. The “Yasuni Proposal” as it is known was selected from among close to a thousand other proposals, and was highlighted in the … Read More
Exxon Seeks Venezuela Deal
Oil giant Exxon Mobil is seeking arbitration over a stand-off with Venezuela about the takeover of its oil assets. The US oil firm made its case to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, a group with close ties to the World Bank. It has not said how much compensation it wants for the … Read More
Venezuela and China Plan $10 Billion Heavy Oil Venture
Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state-owned oil company, and China National Petroleum Corp will invest over $10 billion to produce oil in the Faja del Orinoco region and refine at least some of it in China. The venture may produce as much as a million barrels a day, Rafael Ramirez, the minister of energy and … Read More
Mexico Pipelines Attacked Again
Explosions rocked Mexico yesterday as attacks on six pipelines disrupted oil and gas supplies and forced thousands from their homes, just weeks after leftist rebels set off a string of pipeline bombs. State energy monopoly Pemex said there were no injuries from the blasts, most of which were in Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico, … Read More
Chávez Oil Deal to London Starts
From today, up to a million people on income support will be eligible for half fares on London’s buses under Ken Livingstone’s oil deal with Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president. Single parents, carers, the long-term sick and disabled people will benefit from the plan, first mooted during Mr Chávez’s visit to the UK last year, paying … Read More
Chavez Rips up the Constitution
Hugo Chavez has infuriated his critics by laying out the road map for moving his oil-rich nation to a socialist state, proposing a radical constitutional reform which could have at its centre indefinite re-election for himself. Addressing the National Assembly, Chavez laid out 33 changes he plans to make to the constitution he introduced in … Read More
Ecuador To Invest $180 Million in Petroecuador
Ecuador’s government is planning an additional investment of $180 million into the state-owned oil company Petroleos del Ecuador, or Petroecuador, to halt declining production levels, the Economy Minister Fausto Ortiz has said. Without this investment, Petroecuador’s oil production will likely fall to 50 million barrels this year, down from the expected 60 million forecasted by … Read More
Ecuador: Pay Us to Keep the Oil in the Ground
Under pressure to preserve the environment while at the same time ease the poverty of his people, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has come up with an unusual and novel solution. President Rafael Correa has startled Wall Street with talk of not paying Ecuador’s $10.3 billion foreign debt. He wants wealthy nations to pay Ecuador $350 … Read More
Mexican Oil And Gas Pipelines Attacked
A Mexican guerrilla group has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings of oil and gas pipelines operated by Pemex, the country’s national oil company. Explosions sent flames nearly 1,000 feet into the air outside the city of Corregidora, in the central state of Queretaro, where several pipelines were severed, including a 36-inch pipe that … Read More