Industry Developments

Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving member of the Republican party in the US Senate, has been convicted of corruption. Stevens was convicted on seven counts... 2008-10-28

Venezuela intends to announce a licensing round for several oil blocks in the Orinoco Basin by the end of October 2008.

The Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) has announced that it will sign a US$800mn syndicated loan for the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Ecuador has said that it will reduce its oil production and will focus on exploring for additional oil and gas reserves in response to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting... 2008-10-27

Mexico's senate has voted in favour of reforms to the country's oil sector that will grant state-controlled oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) greater financial autonomy and... 2008-10-24

Canadian independent Nexen and oil sands focused OPTI Canada have officially opened the Long Lake oil sands project in Alberta. The completion of the project comes as a number... 2008-10-24

US major ExxonMobil has spudded its first exploration well on Block BM-S-22 in the Santos Basin. Block BM-S-22 is part of the same grouping that has yielded significant discoveries... 2008-10-23

Alaska's latest leasing sale for acreage on the North Slope and the Beaufort Sea has attracted US$9mn worth of bids for tracts covering around 1,214sq km (300,000 acres).

Mexican President Felipe Calderón's attempts to reform Mexico's oil industry, which have met with resistance in the Mexican legislature, have received a moderate boost after a senate... 2008-10-22

Cuba's state-owned Companhia Cubana de Petróleo (Cupet) has announced that it believes that the island's offshore territory may hold in excess of 20bn barrels (bbl) of oil.