In a quest to find fresh reserves to offset production of 660,000 b/d at maturing oil fields, Oil M&S finds light crude (density of 38 API deg.) in the Bermejo basin.

Argentina produces 660,000 b/d of oil and 140 million cubic meters/d of gas, exporting around 10%-20% of the output.

Argentina's Oil M&S found light crude in San Juan, a western province of Argentina that has no proven oil or natural gas reserves. The Buenos Aires-based company has been exploring the Bermejo basin with an investment of $8.4 million between 2006 and 2012, the first such effort in the province in three decades. In the statement released by the provincial government, Jorge De Luca, Oil M&S' director of new projects, said the crude found at the well is light and of high quality, with a density of 38 API degrees. Spain's Repsol YPF, the biggest oil company in Argentina, is also exploring in the province, part of a push into new areas of the country. The companies want to find fresh reserves to offset production declines at maturing fields in the five productive basins.

OPEC's Total Crude Oil Output Rose to 32 Million Barrels Per Day in December:

OPEC increases production over November:
The members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produced an average 32.03 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in December, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials January 14, which is up from November's production rate of 31.65 million barrels per day.

Production from OPEC's ten members bound by crude output agreements averaged 27.43 million b/d in December. This is 460,000 barrels per more than in November and 177,000 b/d higher than the group's 27.253 million b/d target which came into effect at the beginning of November.

China Petrochemical Corporation Reports:

Mexico’s state-owned energy company Pemex plans to invest $470 Million (5 billion pesos)in technological development to aid its oil and gas search and discovery initiative over the next five years.

How much oil may be available?
Much of Mexico's possible reserves that could yield decades more oil are deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico. This indeed will be no easy venture. Pemex has a $12.5 billion budget for production and exploration this year. This seed money will allow mexico to develop the know-how to access deep sea reserves partly by technology-sharing with Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras. Pemex aims to develop 16 deep sea exploratory wells between 2007 and 2009.

To date, Pemex is the only company allowed to produce and or explore for oil and gas in Mexico, and has several noncommercial cooperation agreements with Petrobras and other companies that seek to share technological know-how and experience.

Ukraine crude oil export up:
Ukraine's crude oil for export overseas has increased by 19.7% year-on-year to 39.75 million metric tons in 2007, up from the 33.21 million metric tons shipped in 2006 and the 31.37 million metric tons shipped in 2005, and energy.

Overall crude shipments up:
Ukraine's overall crude shipments, which include oil transit and supplies to domestic oil refineries, increased by 13.3% year-on-year to 50.9 million metric tons in 2007 from 44.9 million metric tons shipped in 2006, the official said.

In December, Ukraine reduced its transit of crude oil for export by 3% on the month to 2.89 million metric tons, down from 2.98 million metric tons shipped in November and down from 2.94 million metric tons shipped in December 2006.