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Teen solves centuries-old math problem
China to invest in Brazil
The Chinese government has given the Brazilian government $10 billion to invest in oil exploration.
According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, Brazil will use the money to explore pre-salt layer oil fields.
In addition to the deal with China, the Brazilian government is also in negotiations with the United Arab Emirates regarding a loan, also for exploration in the pre-salt layer oil fields, said Brazilian Mining and Energy Minister Edison Lobao.
Lobao has said he wants to create a state company to manage Brazil's exploration of pre-salt oil.
"This will ensure that Brazil gains all the profits generated from the exploitation of the new oil fields," he said.
There are thought to be between 9.5 billion and 14 billion barrels of oil equivalent in Brazil's pre-salt layer.
Brazilian energy company Petrobras discovered the reserves at its Tupi field in the Santos basin, but the reserves are under the sea bottom, which contains a gel-like salt deposit that could be up to 1.24 miles deep.
Lobao estimated that the development of the pre-salt layer would not be profitable if oil fell below $30 per barrel.
Iraq pushes to sell oil to South Korea
Iraq has agreed to resume its exports to South Korean oil company SK Energy after the firm withdrew its contract with the Kurds.
The country's Oil Ministry had suspended deals with several international energy companies that had accepted contracts with the Kurds, the Tehran Times reported.
The head of the state oil marketing arm, Falah al-Amiri, said that SK Energy told the Iraqi government it plans to withdraw from the contract with the Kurds, and the Iraqi government told SK Energy that oil sales will resume as soon as that has been done.
While it seems Iraq is on track to strike a deal with SK Energy in South Korea, several other firms that have been speculated about in terms of signing oil deals in Iraq did not attend this weekend's Energy Expo in Baghdad. U.S.-based ConocoPhillips and Russia's Gazprom Neft were expected by analysts to attend but did not.
The three-day oil expo was intended to attract international oil companies to Iraq's oil market.
The country produces 2.4 million barrels a day with 2 million being exported, though Iraq has an estimated 115 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, the third largest following Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Gazprom Neft may open arctic oil field
Russia's Gazprom holds a license for the Prirazlomnoye field and recently announced it has not ruled out the possibility of bringing a foreign partner on board, said Gazprom's Deputy General Director Boris Zilbermints.
Construction on the platform is expected to be completed by late 2010 or early 2011 and then the drilling will commence, RosBusinessConsulting reported.
Once construction is complete, Gazprom Neft will consider attracting foreign partners for joint development and production optimization at the field, Zilbermints said.
Prirazlomnoye is an offshore field located in the southeastern part of the Barents Sea, and its reserves are estimated to be about 83.2 million tons of oil
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Closing oil prices, Dec. 9, 3 p.m., London
Brent Crude oil: $41.60
West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $43.38
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(e-mail: energy@upi.com)
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