Energy Markets

Investments:

ExxonMobil Opens Wallet for Major Long-Term Investments - Exxon Mobile Corp.

Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced plans to invest at record levels -- between $25 billion and $30 billion annually over the next five years -- to meet expected long-term growth in world energy demand.

Galp See Brazil's Tupi Profitable at Current Oil Prices Map - Dow Jones Newswires

Portugal's Galp Energia believes production at the Tupi subsalt oil field in Brazil is viable despite the slide in international oil prices, Galp's chief executive said Wednesday.

"Production at Tupi is competitive, even at the actual level of oil prices," Galp CEO Manuel Ferreira de Oliveira was quoted by the Estado news agency as saying after his company released its fourth-quarter earnings.

PetroChina to Speed Up Pipeline Construction in 2009 – Xinhua News Agency

Chinas' top oil company PetroChina will accelerate building pipelines in 2009, according to China Securities Journal.


Shrinking output / exports:

Venezuela to Cut Oil Contracts As Prices Fall – Dow Jones Newswires

Venezuela said it will seek to renegotiate contracts with oil-service companies, with PDVSA planning to cut its spending on oil-service contractors by 40%.

Pemex gas output to fall for the first time since 2002 - BNAmericas

Mexican state oil company Pemex is forecasting that its natural gas production in 2009 will fall for the first time since 2002.

Output is expected to slip on lower associated gas production at the prolific Cantarell field, which is in its stage of natural decline, Pemex spokesperson Carlos Ramírez said, citing PEP authorities.

PetroChina Cuts '09 Output Targets on Falling Demand – AFX News Limited

Top Asian oil and gas producer PetroChina has cut its domestic production targets for 2009 by 10 to 20 percent at many oil fields because of falling demand, a company executive said on Wednesday.

Iraq's Oil Exports Fall in February – Xinhua News Agency

Iraq's crude oil exports slipped slightly to 1.804 million barrels a day in February, down from 1. 893 million barrels a day in January, an Iraqi Oil Ministry source said on Tuesday.

BP Scales Back Production Growth Plans – AFX News Limited

Oil major BP Plc dropped a key oil and gas production growth target on Tuesday, dashing investor hopes that Chief Executive Tony Hayward would chart a return to output growth after years of stagnation.


Drama in Ecuador:

Ecuador will not confiscate Perenco's Oil Fields Over Tax Debt Burden - Rigzone

Ecuadorean Oil Minister Derlis Palacios said Wednesday that the country will not seize the oil fields of French company Perenco over debts, reports Reuters. This statement comes a day after Ecuador said that it would freeze Perenco's oil income to collect the debt.

Ecuador Attaches Output of French Oil Company – EFE News Services

The Ecuadorian government on Wednesday announced its decision to retain 70 percent of Perenco's output as part of its bid to collect $338 million in windfall-profits tax owed by the French oil company.