http://news.rigzone.comThe latest upstream oil and gas news from around the world.Copyright 2009 Rigzone.com Inc. All rights reserved.http://www.rigzone.com/images/logo_rigz_131x20.gifhttp://www.rigzone.com/news/13120http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77883&rss=trueCrude oil prices fell more than $2 today as July 4 nears and news concerning US unemployment numbers surfaced. Analyst Phil Flynn sees oil prices reaching a critical point, either heading up to $75 or down toward $50 in the next couple of days.Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77876&rss=trueRepsol said Thursday that it has received offers "of a different nature and from different companies" interested in acquiring a stake in its Argentine unit YPF. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77872&rss=trueAlthough historically India has not been as active as other regions in offshore E&P, the South Asian country has become a more popular locale for offshore drilling, as evidenced in the growing numbers of rigs working there.Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77867&rss=trueThe basket price of OPEC eased to $69.26 Wednesday, the group said Thursday. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77862&rss=trueEmboldened by its first licensing round, Iraq's Oil Ministry has moved up a second auction that was to be held at the end of this year for 11 oil and natural-gas fields.Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77851&rss=trueDespite a rally to nearly $72 earlier in the day, crude oil again dropped below $70. With mixed indicators stemming from decreased oil and increased petroleum product inventories, traders today stayed away. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77834&rss=trueOPEC's oil price inched towards the 70-dollar mark Tuesday, the Vienna-based cartel announced Wednesday. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77825&rss=trueBangladesh's prime minister has directed the energy division to send a proposal to award up to nine offshore gas blocks to ConocoPhillips and Tullow Oil.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77819&rss=trueIraq awarded a BP-led consortium the right to develop the giant Rumaila oil field but failed to strike deals for seven oil and gas fields as companies balked at the country's contract terms.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77817&rss=trueThe Ugandan government is embroiled in disputes over its failure to reveal the contents of contracts with oil-exploration companies operating in the country ahead of the start of oil production on the Ugandan side of the Albertine Rift.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77811&rss=trueBased on weak economic statistics reported in the US and UK, as well as the close of the quarter, crude oil dropped alongside the stock market and other commodities today.Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77809&rss=trueThe buffer between demand for crude oil and current production capacity is comfortable enough not to need additional OPEC output, the head of the International Energy Agency said.Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77788&rss=trueBP and CNPC have won a contract for the development of Iraq's Rumaila oil field, the only successful bid in Iraq's first licensing round for eight oil and gas fields.Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77771&rss=trueKeppel O&M has secured contracts from Diamond Offshore, COSL and Noble Drilling for the upgrading and repair of three semisubmersibles.Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77769&rss=trueBG Group agreed to pay $1 billion for a stake in Exco's shale-gas properties in Texas and Louisiana, becoming the latest European oil major to move into U.S. unconventional natural gas. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77768&rss=truePetrobras continues to take a hard line on cost cuts as it prepares to launch tenders for drilling rigs and production platforms.Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77767&rss=trueCrude oil saw a more than $2 jump in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, on escalated violence in the Niger Delta, as well as technical factors.Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77766&rss=trueSinopec is negotiating its first oil exploration and production deal in Brazil with state-controlled Petrobras, an executive of the Brazilian company said Monday. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77756&rss=trueOPEC's oil price climbed to $69.29 at the end of last week, the Vienna-based group announced Monday. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=77755&rss=trueNigeria's main militant group on Monday said it had set a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform ablaze, the second attack since the Nigerian government last week offered an amnesty to militants. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT