The rebound in oil prices over the last two years brought in record profits for the world’s largest crude producers, shoring up local economies and boosting jobs. Despite the fanfare, Latin America, home to a fifth of the world’s oil reserves, missed the party.
At current production rates, Latin America is underperforming its potential by about 12 million barrels a day, one expert estimates. That’s the equivalent of roughly $864 million of lost oil revenue every day at current prices — a monumental loss for a region that’s saddled with some of the worst wealth inequality in the world, and at a time when a huge supply crisis in global energy markets means that output is more needed than ever.
