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Many Latin American countries have had a long and close energy trade relationship with the United States. However, some of the Trump administration’s executive orders (EOs) have the...
The Biden administration took office with ambitious plans to accelerate America's clean energy transition. Over four years, it enacted major climate legislation, poured billions into new clean energy...
Join the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA's Women in Energy initiative (WIE), the New York University SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, and NYU’s Center for Global...
Event
• Abramson Family Auditorium
1307 L Street NW, Washington, D.C.
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The Future of State-owned Oil & Gas Companies in Latin America
Past Event
April 21, 2021
10:00 am - 11:30 am utc
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Latin America’s state-owned oil and gas sector is facing unprecedented challenges caused by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting collapse in commodity prices and crude oil demand, as well as related financial and political pressures. These conditions, in addition to persistent administrative challenges and long-term debt liabilities, have caused Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) production to drop to the lowest levels per citizen since the 1920s in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven crude reserves. Political upheaval has also impacted Petroecuador, Pemex, and YPF, although the latter has announced plans to invest $1.5 billion to ramp up the output of shale gas field Vaca Muerta.
The latest decision by President Jair Bolsonaro to replace Petrobras CEO Roberto Castello Branco with a former army general with little experience in the oil industry harkens back to Brazil’s history of political meddling in fuel pricing. Colombia’s Ecopetrol stands out as a bright spot in the region. Among the reforms enacted over the last decade was the listing of 11% of the company’s shares, which provided an infusion of capital that helped the company enlist better managers. To boost reserves, it has teamed up with international oil majors to invest in fracking and in upstream activities in other countries.
Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy together with the Columbia Global Centers hosted a panel of exceptional policy experts to analyze the different economic, political, and social dynamics at play in the main oil and gas producing countries in Latin America.
Moderator:
Dr. Thomas J. Trebat, Director, Columbia Global Centers | Rio de Janeiro
Panelists:
Rosanety Barrios, Independent Analyst
Philippe Benoit, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA
Dr. Mauricio Cárdenas, Visiting Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA
Dr. Fernanda Delgado, Professor and Strategic Advisor, FGV Energia
Dr. Mauricio Cárdenas, Visiting Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA
Panelists
Rosanety Barrios, Independent Analyst
Philippe Benoit, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA
Dr. Fernanda Delgado, Professor and Strategic Advisor, FGV Energia
Nuclear energy is essential for addressing climate change and growing electricity demand. The United States has joined over twenty other countries in pledging to triple its nuclear energy...
Join the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA's Women in Energy initiative (WIE), the New York University SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, and NYU’s Center for Global...
Event
• Abramson Family Auditorium
1307 L Street NW, Washington, D.C.
Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a student roundtable lunch and discussion featuring Women in Energy’s...
Event
• CGEP Large Conference Room
1255 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027
The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) framework[1] was designed to help accelerate the energy transition in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) while embedding socioeconomic[2] considerations into its planning and implementation.
Commentary
by Gautam Jain & Ganis Bustami• March 03, 2025