Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) posted a second-quarter profit of $1.8 billion, representing the third consecutive quarter in which the state-owned firm has recorded a profit. Source: News

Penn Virginia Corp., Houston, is to acquire Eagle Ford assets primarily in Lavaca County, Tex., for $205 million cash from Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City. Source: News

Royal Dutch Shell PLC has shut down refining operations at subsidiary Shell Nederland Raffinaderij BV’s 404,000-b/d Pernis refinery and integrated petrochemical production site in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, following a weekend power outage that resulted in an explosion and subsequent fire at the plant. Source: News

Melbourne-based Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. has entered into agreements with German company DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG to review and evaluate and, if appropriate, jointly bid for oil and gas assets in selected areas offshore Brazil. Source: News

Chevron Australia reports that the first production train of its $34-billion Wheatstone LNG project in Western Australia is now in the final stages of commissioning. Production should begin in the next few weeks. Source: News

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., The Woodlands, Tex., has finalized two agreements with the government of Mozambique that would allow the firm to design, build, and operate marine facilities for its LNG project in the northern part of the country. Source: News

The light, sweet crude oil price approached $50/bbl on the New York market July 28 while the Brent crude oil price settled above $52/bbl on the London market. Both benchmarks have gained in 12 of the past 15 trading sessions. Source: News