Is Brazil the Energy Power of the Future (and always will be)?
Read sidebars on wind, solar and geothermal energy. Brazil’s pro-álcool (pro alcohol) policy, which for decades had sought to substitute gasoline with locally produced sugarcane ethanol—a goal once dismissed as folly—suddenly became a world model. Brazil was hailed as the “Saudi Arabia of biofuels,” and massive investment plans were launched. That year, my firm, Garten-Rothkopf, … Read more
Power Shift
The energy landscape in the Americas has shifted dramatically in just a few years. Only a decade ago, experts expected most of the world’s new oil supplies to come from the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. Now the odds are that most of the growth in global oil supplies will come from North … Read more
The Next Energy Superpower?
A revolution in supply, driven by technological change and beginning in the United States, is transforming the energy sector. A commodity whose scarcity defined geopolitics and economics from the beginning of the industrial age is now becoming a potentially abundant resource. This will not only reshape the global energy map and global politics, but also … Read more
Business Innovator: Felipe Arango, Colombia
The Chocó region in western Colombia is one of the most mineral-rich places in the hemisphere. It is also ecologically rich, boasting species of flora thought to be unique to Chocó. But due to years of commercial gold and platinum mining that have leached mercury and cyanide into local rivers, the Chocó region has also become … Read more
Fresh Look Reviews
Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Energy in the Americas
Articles: Power Shift by Jason Bordoff and Michael Levi Will the Western Hemisphere overtake the Middle East? (video available) Full text available. The Rising Global Thermostat: What business can do to lower the temperature by Ban Ki-moon What business can (and should) do to lower the temperature. Full text available. The Irrelevance of Global Climate … Read more
Argentina Signs Deal to Jump-Start Drilling
A little more than a year after Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner seized control of Argentine oil company YPF from Spain’s Grupo Repsol, Argentina has enlisted Chevron to develop its massive Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas field. The deal, inked Tuesday evening in Buenos Aires, confirms the California-based Chevron Corporation will invest an … Read more
Seeking Investment, Argentina Eases Restrictions on the Oil Industry
The Argentine government announced on Monday that it would allow oil companies that invest at least $1 billion over five years to explore the Vaca Muerta oil field and to export, tax free, up to 20 percent of the crude and natural gas they produce in the country. The move is part of a growing effort … Read more
The Promise of Oil in Paraguay
Paraguay has just 6.5 million inhabitants who consume 27,000 barrels per day of refined petroleum products. To put that into perspective, Argentina consumes 698,000 barrels per day, Chile 347,000 and Bolivia 62,000. This makes Paraguay’s needs for hydrocarbons very small when compared to its neighbors. Yet Paraguay is currently importing all of its oil, as … Read more
Incentive-Based Contracts in Mexico’s Oil Sector
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s plan to reform state-owned Petroléos Mexicanos (PEMEX) has attracted the attention of many analysts. Since President Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized the oil sector in 1938, no president has been able to push for reform to allow for foreign ownership of petroleum assets. Peña Nieto sees allowing foreign investment to be critical … Read more
Vice President Biden to Discuss Energy Cooperation in Brazil
After visiting Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago this week, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden began a three day tour of Brazil today that is expected to focus largely on energy cooperation and economic growth. Biden’s first stop on his tour is Rio de Janeiro. While there, the vice president will address energy-sector business leaders, tour … Read more
Foreign Investment in Brazil’s Oil and Gas Sector
With urbanization and population growth trending upward, Brazil has increased its demand for energy, especially in the areas of oil, natural gas and electricity. On the supply side, oil and gas production has increased and there have been several well-publicized, large deepwater finds that have generated much excitement. These include the pre-salt reserves off the … Read more
AQ Slideshows: Natural Resource Extraction in Latin America
Award-winning photographer Nicolas Villaume accompanied Americas Quarterly to Chile, Colombia and Peru in 2012 to study natural resource extraction and its effect on social inclusion. Photographed during the AQ team’s site visits to mines in each country and meetings with stakeholders at the extraction sites and nearby communities, Villaume’s photos bring this research to life … Read more
Mining Conflict and Indigenous Consultation in Guatemala
A handful of Mayan-Q’eqchi’ men and women met with lawyers late last year in Ontario to review the details of three lawsuits filed in local courts against the Canadian mining company HudBay Minerals. They had traveled to Canada to pursue legal recourse for their claim that security personnel at the company’s Fenix Mining Project in … Read more
Monday Memo: Raúl Castro to Retire in 2018 – Venezuela Awaits News on Chávez – Bolivian Soldiers Face Hearing in Chile – Oscar Arias visits Paraguay – Mining Strike Continues in Colombia
Top stories this week are likely to include: Cuba prepares for political successors in 2018; Venezuela’s opposition protests lack of information on Chávez; Tensions between Chile and Bolivia rise over Bolivian soldiers’ arrest; Oscar Arias visits Paraguay for OAS elections observations; and Cerrejón strike continues after explosives destroy trucks. Raúl Castro Says he’ll Step Down … Read more
