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Letter from South America: Mexico plays catch-up
The country’s upstream strategy seems at odds with reality and will require an about-turn if there is any hope of meeting its production targets
Pre-salt fuelling Petrobras’ upstream ambitions
The offshore region is poised to significantly ramp up production as more midstream gas infrastructure reaches startup and divestments keep coming
Pemex running out of time
The state-controlled heavyweight may miss its 2021 upstream target despite downgrading original guidance
YPF targets Vaca Muerta upsurge
In the wake of positive financials, the Argentinian operator is lifting capex spend and is bullish on barrels
Brazil suffers acreage sale setback
Bidding round deemed a disappointment after most operators steer clear
Giant oil and gas discoveries may prove irrelevant
The energy transition is increasing the risk of huge discoveries becoming stranded indefinitely
Pemex fire scorches upstream ambitions
Hopes that national crude production will eclipse pre-pandemic levels look distant after platform blaze in the Gulf of Mexico
Vista turns on the taps in Argentina
The producer is steadily increasing production from its flagship shale project and eyeing further M&A opportunities
3R Petroleum targets Petrobras’ portfolio
The independent is rapidly expanding its footprint in Brazil and may not have finished just yet
Talos loses out on Zama operatorship
Mexican authorities rule in favour of NOC Pemex, raising doubts about the speed to first oil
Brazil Venezuela Mexico Argentina Petrobras PDV YPF
24 January 2018
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Latin American power play

Politics again dragged down Venezuela's oil industry, but helped lift up Mexico and Argentina

Petropolitics was the dominant force in Latin American energy in 2017. Start in Venezuela, where utter mismanagement of the nation's oil industry and petro-wealth continued to plunge the country into a deep economic and political crisis. The descent has been extreme. The economy shrank by 12% in 2017 bringing the total contraction to a third since the 2014 oil price collapse, while inflation galloped to more than 650%. The government was short on cash, and imports of vital food and medicines plummeted, giving a humanitarian dimension to the crisis too. Many Venezuelans, once among the wealthiest in the region, fled for neighbouring Brazil, Colombia, or Miami—if they could afford it. Through

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