The News Journal

Peru's consumer protection agency is suing Spanish oil firm Repsol over a huge oil spill which blackened beaches off the coast of Lima in January. The spill, which Peru called the worst ecological disaster around Lima in recent memory, leaked more than 10,000 barrels into the Pacific Ocean. The civil lawsuit seeks $3bn (£2.54bn) for environmental damage and $1.5bn (£1.27bn) for damages to locals. Repsol has denied responsibility. On Tuesday, a Peruvian judge admitted the $4.5bn lawsuit by Indecopi against Repsol, meaning the case will go to court. An underwater oil pipeline owned by the company caused a spill on 15 January. It happened when an Italian-flagged tanker, Mare Doricum, was unloading at Repsol's La Pampilla refinery. Repsol initially said the spill was caused by "sudden and extraordinary anomalous waves produced by the volcanic eruption in Tonga". However, it later blamed the oil tanker. The firm has denied responsibility for the spill and told Reuters tha...

 Oil prices rallied overnight as markets await the outcome of EU discussions on banning Russian energy imports and weather conditions disrupt Moscow's oil supplies. Brent, the global benchmark for two thirds of the world's oil, was 0.17 per cent higher, trading at $121.8 a barrel at 7.29am on Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was down 0.41 per cent at $114.5 a barrel. "Russia confirmed that oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium will fall by around a million barrels a day for up to two months as a result of storm damage. This comes at a time of significant tightness in the market and could contribute to further increases in the price in the coming weeks," said Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at Oanda. A gas torch is seen next to the Lukoil company sign on an oil platform in the Caspian Sea. Oil prices increased after Russia confirmed that oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium will fall by around a million ...