Analysis

Mexican state oil company Pemex’s chief executive, Carlos Treviño, confirmed the discovery of seven reservoirs in two wells in Mexico’s southeast basin. // File Photo: Pemex.

Will Pemex’s New Oil Finds Reverse Output Declines?

Will Pemex’s most recent oil discoveries be enough to reverse the country’s output declines?

Doris Rodriguez, Carlos A. Chávez, Steven P. Otillar, Francisco de Rosenzweig, Maria Cortez, Carlos Ochoa

Energy Advisor ˙

Reviving Venezuela’s Oil Industry Is Easier Said Than Done

Even if Juan Guaido or another opposition figure finally takes the reins and starts fixing the oil sector in Venezuela, it will take years before oil exports can provide the economic boost needed to pull the nation out of the morass. Venezuela’s oil industry has been severely damaged, and there are questions about the long-term economic viability of its oil fields. Venezuelans will likely be disappointed with the pace of the economic turnaround under any new government—a risk that poses a real threat to political stability. Expectations ought to be tempered.

Lisa Viscidi, Nate Graham

Articles & Op-Eds ˙ ˙ World Politics Review

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo (L-R) spent more than a year negotiating the modernization of the trilateral trade deal. // File Photo: Mexican Government.

How Does the New USMCA Deal Affect the Energy Sector?

How does USMCA, the new NAFTA deal, affect the energy sector? What are the biggest changes? Will it boost investment and cooperation?

Larry B. Pascal, Nicolás Borda, Pedro Niembro, Murray Smith, Luis Miguel Labardini, Clifford Sosnow

Energy Advisor ˙

Venezuela’s Oil Crisis Could Still Get Worse

Could Venezuela’s oil production decline even more steeply? Three evolving developments will largely determine the answer: whether creditors can seize assets in compensation for default, whether large numbers of oil workers continue to abandon their jobs, and whether the United States and other countries impose additional sanctions.

Lisa Viscidi, Nate Graham

Articles & Op-Eds ˙ ˙ World Politics Review

Can Mexico Run on Clean Energy?

President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador can capitalize on Mexico’s enormous renewable energy potential and make Mexico a leader in the fight against climate change. Although his platform offers some promising proposals, he will have to maneuver through several major obstacles.

Lisa Viscidi, Nate Graham

Articles & Op-Eds ˙ ˙ The New York Times

Video

Energy Policy in Brazil: What’s Next for Upstream, Refining and LNG?

The Brazilian oil & gas industry is going through its “largest transformation ever,” said Décio Oddone, Director-General for the Brazilian National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) at an event organized by the Inter-American Dialogue on June 28th.

Nate Graham, Daniela Vayas

Event Summaries ˙

Mexico’s Renewable Energy Future

Improving grid management, expanding fiscal incentives for renewable technologies, and improving the land consultation process will open the door to the large Mexican renewable energy market.

Lisa Viscidi

Reports ˙ ˙ Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

The Energy Solution Latin America Needs

If the region increases renewables to 80% of the electricity matrix and expands integration, countries can save billions of dollars in investments, avoid blackouts and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, argue Lisa Viscidi and Ariel Yépez.

Lisa Viscidi, Rigoberto Ariel Yépez-García

Articles & Op-Eds ˙ ˙ The New York Times

Turmoil in South America and the Impact on Energy Markets

2019 has been a tumultuous year for South America. In recent months, mass protests have swept across several countries, including major oil and gas producers Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. Continued political and social turbulence will likely contribute to stagnant oil and gas production growth in these countries. Conversely, Brazil and Guyana are on track to become the region’s largest sources of supply growth.

Lisa Viscidi

Articles & Op-Eds ˙ ˙ Istituto Affari Internazionali

Video

The Outlook for Renewable Energy under the AMLO Administration

AMLO’s skepticism of private investment, the cancellation of generation and transmission auctions, and the return to state-led electricity development through bolstering of the CFE threaten to squander Mexico’s renewable potential and drag its clean development efforts backwards.

Lisa Viscidi

Presentations ˙ ˙ Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Video

Beyond the Headlines: Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit 2019

In a wide-ranging panel about current events in energy, Lisa Viscidi commented on the shift in the US energy trade balance and its effects on foreign policy, Chinese financing for foreign energy projects, the importance of upgrading transmission lines for expanding renewable power generation, and how the Green New Deal attempts to reframe the discussion on climate change in the US.

Lisa Viscidi

Presentations ˙ ˙ Bloomberg New Energy Finance

Regulators and Companies Still Central to Mexico’s Energy Sector

Regulators and private companies will continue to play important roles in the development of Mexico’s energy resources despite President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s focus on strengthening state-owned companies and enhancing “energy sovereignty” by reducing dependence on energy imports from the United States. This was the key message from speakers at “La nueva política energética de México,” an Inter-American Dialogue event in Mexico City.

Nate Graham

Event Summaries ˙

Mexico’s Problematic Energy Policy

Just as Pemex bonds suffered a downgrading to junk status by Fitch, Lisa Viscidi, director of the Energy Program, sat down with Nathaniel Parish Flannery of Forbes to discuss the state of Mexico’s energy sector, including oil and gas, regulators, and renewables, seven months into the AMLO administration.

Lisa Viscidi, Nathaniel Parish Flannery

Interviews ˙ ˙ Forbes

Brazil’s Energy Sector Needs Reform. Is Bolsonaro Up to the Task?

Revitalizing Brazil’s energy sector will be key to Jair Bolsonaro’s success as president – but so far, he’s had mixed results when it comes to getting reforms through Congress. Unless Bolsonaro learns to work with legislators and ease turbulence within his government, Brazil’s missing energy reforms will continue to threaten its economy, and its politics.

Lisa Viscidi, Nate Graham

Articles & Op-Eds ˙ ˙ Americas Quarterly