Santo Domingo. A study conducted by Spanish experts found traces of natural gas in the Dominican Republic's marine subsoil, but the existence of large quantities of reserves cannot be confirmed for now, officials told Efe Tuesday.

Mexico. Energy XXI has executed a conditional purchase/sale agreement to acquire certain Gulf of Mexico shelf oil and natural gas interests from MitEnergy Upstream LLC, a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., for a headline cash consideration of $283 million.

Los Angeles. Mexico’s state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos and the Secretaria de Energia (Sener) are preparing risk contracts that will be offered to oil companies—international and domestic—in order accelerate the search for oil and gas, according to local media.

Mexico. Mexican state oil giant Pemex will invest more than 250 billion pesos ($18.9 billion) per year in coming years, Chief Executive Juan Jose Suarez said.