Citi Perspectives Fall 2019

With announcements of major potential investments of over $300 billion in the next 10 years, Latin America is rapidly becoming one of the most attractive regions globally for investments by the world’s largest oil companies. Compelling opportunities are emerging, such as Brazil’s pre-salt, Argentina’s shale and Guyana’s frontier oil play. Therefore, many governments are taking solid market-oriented approaches. The opportunities come from a widespread recognition that resource nationalism has brought more impediments to the fore, raising the costs of production in a more competitive global environment characterized by an abundance of resources. Brazil and Guyana are benefitting from the dramatic drop in production costs and the security of investment capital, helping to lead to continued market liberalization and investments elsewhere, including in Argentina and Colombia. The opening in Mexico under its last government continues to provide attractive opportunities there as well. But elsewhere the history of resource nationalism has dramatically undermined the production system in Venezuela and poses obstacles to continued reform in Argentina, Ecuador and Mexico. In this feature, Peter Langshaw, Citi’s Global and Latin America Sector Sales Head for Treasury and Trade Solutions, interviews some of the key policy makers, industry leaders and specialists within the region. This feature helps bring together key insights on why oil majors and national oil companies (NOCs) are embracing these market opportunities through new technology and the digitization transformation of the energy sector, and why it will contribute to future success. Peter Langshaw Global and Latin America Sector Sales Head, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi Ed Morse Global Head, Commodities, Citi Decio Oddone General Director, Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) Pedro Medeiros Director, Latin America Energy and Petrochemicals Research, Citi Ernesto Revilla Head, Latin American Economics, Citi Jim Reilly Vice Chairman, Global Head, Energy Corporate Banking, Citi Investing in Latin America: Today’s Energy Market Transformation 18