Geopolitics / South America

Jul 10, 2013 at 16:50 | ISN Security Watch

According to Robert Valencia, China is vying for greater economic influence in Latin America, to include possibly constructing and operating an alternative ‘Panama Canal’ through Nicaragua. One unanticipated consequence of…

Jun 14, 2013 at 15:29 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: Petrobras has made the largest-ever crude oil discovery in Brazil as estimates for the Libra field are doubled to as much as 12 billion barrels, but the company’s…

Jun 14, 2013 at 15:25 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: Argentina is hoping to reign in hidden money and redirect it to government coffers with a new “tax amnesty” as the black market exchange rate hits 5.2 pesos…

Jun 10, 2013 at 16:59 | John Daly

One of the most extraordinary stories of the past decade largely overlooked by the U.S. media is how Central and Latin America have quietly escaped U.S. control since 9-11, as…

Jun 07, 2013 at 16:44 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: Amid two major oil deals, Venezuela is lurching towards political chaos with the state oil company’s debts rivaling those of the federal government and socio-economic and political unrest…

May 31, 2013 at 13:17 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: Despite news of significant progress in peace talks between the government of Colombia and the rebel group FARC, guerrillas in the north and south of Colombia remain active.…

May 27, 2013 at 17:07 | John Daly

To say that U.S. relations with Venezuela’s former President Hugo Rafael Chávez grew increasingly strained would be an understatement. But Chávez succumbed to cancer on 5 March, and the winds…

May 17, 2013 at 14:16 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: Rio’s 11th round of bidding for new concessions went down in an atmosphere of heavy competition, with Brazilian offshore acreage fast becoming some of the hottest oil and…

May 10, 2013 at 14:43 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. (KAR) was already ripe for takeover last month, and a secondary discovery in Brazil last week adds some significantly unexpected value. Analysis:…

May 03, 2013 at 16:04 | Editorial Dept

Looking six months to a year down the road, there are two companies we’re watching closely because we think they’re about to hit pay oil in Paraguay. They’ve honed in…

May 03, 2013 at 15:50 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: Argentina has one of the largest gas and oil deposits in the world, but politics makes this a conundrum for foreign investors. Political mismanagement, especially on the part…

Apr 26, 2013 at 12:59 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: The victory of Colorado Party candidate Horacio Cartes in Paraguay’s presidential elections on 21 April sets the stage for a strengthening of the oil and gas industry and…

Apr 19, 2013 at 19:05 | John Daly

Nowhere else in the world is the disparity between rich and poor so extreme as in Latin America.Beginning in the late 1950s with the triumph of Fidel Castro’s…

Apr 15, 2013 at 17:03 | Charles Kennedy

Now that Nicolas Maduro—the late Hugo Chavez’s choice for successor—has narrowly won Sunday’s presidential elections in Venezuela, oil and gas investors can expect a perpetuation of the status quo.

Apr 15, 2013 at 16:55 | Daniel J. Graeber

The apparent victory for Nicolos Maduro in the Venezuelan presidential election may give the United States a sense of hope for improved ties with the Latin American oil giant. His…

Mar 15, 2013 at 15:05 | Editorial Dept

While resource nationalism initiatives have scared away investors in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, Peru and Colombia are two Latin America venues that offer relatively hassle-free investment and have plenty…

Mar 15, 2013 at 14:22 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: As 99.8% of Falkland Islanders vote ‘yes’ in a referendum to remain a self-governing British overseas territory, Argentina rejects the referendum as meaningless. The rhetoric is likely to…

Mar 06, 2013 at 13:48 | John Daly

Venezuela’s President, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, succumbed to cancer on 5 March. Vice President Nicolás Maduro announced on state television that Chávez died in Caracas at 4:25 p.m. local time,…

Mar 01, 2013 at 09:32 | Editorial Dept

Bottom Line: Colombia’s oil production is up to an average of 1.01 billion barrels per day as of January 2013—the first time it’s surpassed the targeted 1 billion barrel mark.…

Feb 22, 2013 at 13:13 | Editorial Dept

Bottom line: Evo Morales’ expropriation of Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos SA (SABSA)--a subsidiary of the Spanish businesses Abertis and Aena--is another warning for foreign investors in Bolivia. SABSA managed the…