Ecuador has signed an agreement with Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas firm Petrobras to change a valid participation contract into one of service providing, Ecuadorian Mine and Oil Minister Derlis Palacios said Friday.
The amended contract will sharply raise Ecuador’s oil royalties from fields that produce 32,000 barrels per day — from 67 percent to 81 [...]

Anchorage, Alaska – The oil price spike has brought the best of times and worst of times in Alaska.
In the state’s urban metropolis, a retail frenzy is under way as merchants compete for the extra $3,269 that landed on Sept. 12 in residents’ bank accounts. The money is from the normal annual dividend paid by [...]