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Latin America upstream in brief

01 February 2021

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01 February 2021

Latin America upstream in brief

Report summary

The Latin America upstream in brief provides Wood Mackenzie's view on key industry events in Mexico and the Caribbean, Central and South America as they unfold. Declining legacy onshore production has been met with a highly active offshore sector. Discoveries in Guyana, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are reshaping the upstream landscape south of the border. Argentina also stands out through its burgeoning shale developments, one of the few bright spots for unconventionals outside the United States. Strong licensing activity, led by Brazil and Mexico, has drawn a diverse landscape of players exploring new opportunities in the region. We cover these issues, and more, in the Latin America upstream in brief.

Petrobras CEO to be replaced as political pressure mounts
Petrobras and ExxonMobil strike oil at a pre-salt exploration well
Mexican regulator approves 15 more exploratory concessions to Pemex
Guyana and Suriname have different fortunes in early 2021 exploration results
Bolivia: Repsol closes out the year with tenth discovery of 2020
Latin America upstream: 5 things to look for in 2021
Regional onshore oil mature fields can still deliver significant value
YPF dominates volume and price in Argentina's gas incentive programme
Pan American Energy extends its position in Vaca Muerta’s black oil window
Petronas makes its first discovery offshore Suriname
Brazil’s second open acreage round succeeds amid covid pandemic
Petrobras doubles down on resilience in its Strategy Day
Argentina launches broad gas price incentive programme
PetroRio takes over operatorship of two pre-salt fields from BP
Petrobras releases the teaser for 50% stake in the Marlim cluster
Mixed results for ExxonMobil’s Tanager well on the Kaieteur block, Guyana
Touchstone Exploration is actively moving forward in Trinidad and Tobago project
Colombian PPAA third cycle starts with bids to all the offered blocks
Tango FLNG project between YPF and Exmar comes to an early end
New administration needs to strive to revive Bolivia’s oil and gas sector
Occidental sells its onshore Colombian assets to the Carlyle Group
Ecopetrol launches mature fields bid round in Colombia
Petrobras puts Brazil's Albacora and Albacora Leste fields up for sale
Total quits Brazil's Equatorial Margin
ExxonMobil takes the final investment decision (FID) in the Payara project in Guyana
Pemex presents its 2021 budget led by key asset investment and new areas evaluation
Petrobras slashes five-year E&P spend by 30%
Compañía General de Combustibles (CGC) begins gas extraction from its innovative storage project in Southern Argentina
Pemex hits lowest low in 40 years
Mexican regulator approves three new concessions to Pemex
Enauta farms down at Manati gas field
Shut-in wells from Vaca Muerta come back strongly during June
Argentina’s liquids production recovers, driven by unconventional assets
Lack of gas infrastructure challenges Petrobras’ Sergipe-Alagoas project
Mexican exploration and production commitments put on hold
Major oil discovery in Block 58 offshore Suriname
Brazil offshore decommissioning in the 2020s
Petrobras doubles its FPSO schedule
Unconventional assets lead production shut-ins in Argentina
Using Wood Mackenzie Lens to power Upstream insights and analysis
Webinar: After the crash – what’s changed in Latin America upstream?
Bahamas Petroleum Company doubles down on exploration strategy
After the crash – what’s changed in Latin America upstream?
Are Latam NOCs prepared for the tough road ahead?
Brazil is the third largest country in decommissioning capex this decade
Private operators pave their way in Mexico
How have Andean countries reacted to the low oil price scenario?
Talos and Pemex unitisation: 120 days to reach an agreement
Qatar Petroleum farms into Total’s blocks, Shell bows out
Repsol plunges into Mexican Deepwaters; wins big
Brazil's 2020 rounds officially suspended
Fiscal burden to threaten new pre-salt frontier in Brazil?
Last call for Venezuelan waivers
Ecuador’s SOTE and OCP pipelines interrupt operation s
Apache and Total announce the second deepwater discovery in Suriname
Rosneft terminates all Venezuelan assets
Venezuela's heavy oil in hot water
Latin America’s 2020 oil production can be hit hard by the oil price crash
Operators to trim 20% of exploration budgets in Brazil this year
Buzios’s fourth FPSO makes Brazil’s output reach a new record
Eni announces second discovery in Mexico, expects to extend its good run
Vaca Muerta will wait for signals from new authorities
Long-awaited FIDs to be taken and production ramping up
Will Brazil’s pre-salt exploration wells disappoint?
US sanctions on Venezuela have taken a hard hit on Trinidad’s gas industry
Encouraging results in Colombia’s Lower Magdalena Valley discovery
Drilling permits challenge Brazil Equatorial Margin potential
Brazil's PetroRio buys FPSO and 80% of Tubarão Martelo oil field
New gas discoveries breathe life into the T&T economy
Stabroek block strike of success continues with 16th discovery and resource upgrade
A major change in Brazil’s PSC regime looks closer
Pemex delays development of Zama
A good start to the year for Brazil’s pre-salt
PDVSA falls short as operator
Repsol’s Carapa-1 well comes below expectations
ExxonMobil announces Liza’s first oil in Guyana
Total acquires a 50% stake from Apache in Suriname’s Block 58
Can the PSC terms be blamed for Brazil’s failure to attract IOC interest in the latest rounds?
Chevron exits upstream Colombia with sale to Hocol
Colombia's PPAA keeps bolstering the E&P sector
Dominican Republic awards block in first licensing round
Petrobras to sell 30% stake in Brazil’s Frade to PetroRio
Geopark increases its presence in Colombia
What is the future of bid rounds in Brazil?
Petrobras has returned to the headlines in Brazil’s rounds
Exxonmobil, BP and Shell joined Petrobras and stand out after Brazil’s recent rounds
- Operator diversity 21 years after the E&P market opening
- A successful market opening: BP surpassed Shell, while Repsol, Chevron and Qatar Petroleum doubled acreage
Brazil’s Transfer of Rights surplus round: a real test to capital discipline
Brazil’s 17th Round – Will the lingering above-ground risks remain a significant hurdle for the frontier acreages?
Ecopetrol increases its pre-salt presence in Brazil
Brazil's Concession Round 16: a multitude of operators and record bonus
Chevron to take 40% of three Shell’s deep-water blocks
Four events in worthy of attention that might bring Pemex farm-outs back
Petrofac finds it exit - Perenco to acquire remaining Mexico assets
Colombia announces new round and concedes to fracking pilot
Brazil's onshore might finally get its glory
Mexico: Will the government be able to get Pemex back into shape?
Gran Tierra on the hot foot, spudding first well in less than a year after the Intracampos licensing round
Primary election result wreaks economic instability to Argentina
Pemex gets to keep Round Zero acreage
Petrobras has turned a corner. But can it deliver peer-leading growth?
Exploration success in Guyana beyond the Stabroek block
Open process for new gas pipeline in Argentina
Brazilian upstream market more diverse than ever
A US$190 million deal marks 3R Petroleum’s debut as an operator in Brazil
Ecopetrol in Midland Permian tie-up with Oxy
Washington Venezuela sanctions: Between a rock and a hard place
ConocoPhillips farms into two Vaca Muerta blocks with Wintershall Dea
First Liza FPSO set sail en route to Guyana
Petrobras fully divests three mature fields in Brazil
Back to licensing rounds: Colombia's Permanent Offer (PPAA) results
The Dominican Republic joins other Caribbean countries with the launch of its first bid round
Colombia’s conventional activity picks up while uncons remain unsuccessful
Zama appraisal campaign closes big
Foreign oil companies move forward with exploration work in offshore Brazil

Tables and charts

This report includes 53 images and tables including:

Older stories
Average sales gas and injection commitments by Basin
Average sales gas and injection commitments in Neuquina Basin

Aguada de Canepa is close to major oil developments in Vaca Muerta
Brazil’s second open acreage: 18 awards across seven basins
Petrobras: five-year capex cut by 27%
Marlim cluster is one of the largest upstream divestment
Occidental's onshore Colombia portfolio
Project location
Monthly and cumulative gas injection
Pemex Production 2020
Comparison of well monthly production for June 2020 and previous peak in Bajada del Palo
Kwaskwasi-1 and planned Keskesi East-1
Pre- and post-crash investment forecast for Latin America
Top 5 countries in decommissioning costs for the decade (2020-29)
Production outlook from Mexican early rounds projects
Block 15
Polok and Chinwol
Breakeven price for medium size/medium cost and large size/large cost deepwater oil field under different fiscal scenarios
Ecuador main oil transport system and associated blocks
Top 10* Company Reserves
At a Brent price of US$25/bbl, revenue from 10 million b/d (9%) of global liquids supply does not cover production costs and government share
Buzios’s FPSOs ramp up (ANP data available until December 2019)
Saasken-1 Location
Eni’s upcoming wells
Cross-bordering fields
Partners' production in Colombia
Remaining reserves by onshore basin
A nine kilometers tieback would boost production on PetroRio’s combined development
T&T gas production projection (bcf/d)
Stabroek block resource addition per year
Zama
Activities moving forward in a highly prospective corner in pre-salt
Companies’ acreage in Venezuela excluding PDVSA
Fiscal terms benchmark for a 600 mmboe pre-salt field in Brazil
GeoPark and Amerisur Colombian Blocks
Signature bonuses for Brazil blocks in 2019 were 90% of bonus raised globally
If Gato do Mato development goes ahead, Ecopetrol will accelerate its production in Brazil as Saturno and Pau-Brasil still depend on exploration results
Round 16 signature bonus payments for 12 blocks surpassed US$2 billion
Shell's blocks partially acquired by Chevron
Transactions 2018 - 2019
Transactions 2018 - 2019
Onshore blocks located in northeast Brazil dominated the round, with geographic diversification across three different basins
Oil Production (mb/d)
Government take from early projects*
Intracampos licensing round - blocks awarded
New gas pipeline will help but not solve debottleneck transport infrastructure
Since 1998, 13 new operators have joined Petrobras in the Campos and Santos basins
Both blocks sit close to the Vaca Muerta’s already sanctioned projects
VIM 22 block was the only block that received a counteroffer
Map of 2019 Dominican Republic Licensing Round