China oil financing falls in Latin America
Beijing’s investment in the region is shifting from oil and other commodities to services
Latin America's commodities boom has faded, and with it has gone much of the Chinese oil financing that fuelled the good times. In the decade before the 2014 oil-price crash, Beijing pumped tens of billions of dollars into the region through oil-backed loans and direct investment in major oil and gas projects from its state-owned oil companies. Last year, the only major oil-related deal in the region from Beijing was a $5bn oil-backed loan from the China Development Bank to Brazil's Petrobras. The state-owned company has relied heavily on Chinese financing since the sprawling Carwash (Lavo Jato) corruption scandal made it more difficult and costly for Petrobras to access international capita

Also in this section
23 May 2025
LNG projects need the certainty of long-term contracts, but Henry-Hub–linked deals put buyers at significant risk
22 May 2025
Industry says compliance is near-impossible and have called for more clarity to prevent cargoes being redirected
22 May 2025
The next energy crisis could come from the severing of the link between oil and gas prices, with potentially severe economic consequences
22 May 2025
With contract awards looming on the Kuwait-Saudi backed Dorra field, the long-stalled gas project appears finally to be gaining traction—despite Iranian objections