The U.S. has accused China of “coercion” of Vietnam as it seeks to exploit oil and gas in the South China Sea, siding with Hanoi and chastising Beijing in sharp terms over its decision to send Chinese ships to Vietnamese territorial waters.
BHP Billiton Petroleum (Deepwater) Inc. had the highest bid of the day at $22.5 million for Green Canyon block 124.
Iraq's oil ministry said on Aug. 10 it was still in talks with Exxon Mobil Corp. over a major deal to improve the country's southern oil infrastructure.
Chevron Corp. said on Aug. 8 it has launched one of the world's largest carbon capture and storage projects, injecting CO2 into a deep reservoir under an island off Western Australia at its Gorgon LNG project.
Iran said on July 20 it seized a British-flagged oil tanker because it was involved in an accident, but Britain's foreign minister said he feared Tehran was taking "a dangerous path" and other major European powers expressed alarm.
There were 14 offshore and onshore blocks put up for bidding with a transparent, low-risk contract for investors.
A second Turkish drillship will begin drilling for oil and natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean within a week, Turkey's energy minister said, in a move which that could strain ties with Cyprus over jurisdiction rights for exploration.
Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA has put its Peroa and Cangoa shallow-water natural gas fields and a deepwater exploration concession known as Malombe in the state of Espirito Santo up for sale, the company said.
Exxon Mobil is considering selling all of the stakes it holds in oil and gas fields off the Norwegian coast, a spokeswoman said.
Mexico's oil regulator on June 13 approved exploration plans for four deepwater areas operated by Royal Dutch Shell , after it gave the green light to five others earlier this week, committing the oil major to invest at least $791 million.