MIAMI, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Cuban energy officials say the communist island may have more than 20 billion barrels of oil in offshore deposits, more than twice what U.S. geological officials estimated.

MIAMI, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Venezuela will supply Paraguay "with all the oil it needs," said President Hugo Chavez, who welcomed the election of another leftist leader in Latin America.

MIAMI, June 11 (UPI) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the world's oil companies are behind the bad press regarding his country's ethanol sector, denying claims by some that the industry uses slave labor and is responsible for deforestation in the Amazon.

MIAMI, June 7 (UPI) -- The head of the Organization of American States said he is considering a run at the presidency in his native Chile, The Miami Herald reported Saturday.

MIAMI, June 4 (UPI) -- Brazil's oil bounty apparently continues to grow with the discovery of a new deposit of sweet crude off the coast of Sao Paulo state, according to energy officials.

MIAMI, May 14 (UPI) -- Venezuelan and Ecuadorian state energy firms announced they would collaborate on the construction and running of an oil refinery in Ecuador, officials from both nations said.

Iran has made yet another lofty development pledge to Nicaragua, this time in the form of a $230 million hydroelectric dam for the poor and oft-energy-short Central American nation.

MIAMI, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- With Fidel Castro deciding to not pursue another term in office, Cuba will become the focus of a regional tug-of-war over its oil and ethanol sectors, experts say.

MIAMI, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently announced his country's decision to build a refinery on the Caribbean island of Dominica, part of his effort to further integrate the region's energy supplies.