Political changes are shaping the outlook in many of South America’s smaller and emerging oil and gas producers, including Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. At a webinar co-hosted by the Inter-American Dialogue and the National Capital Area Chapter of the United States Association for Energy Economics (NCAC-USAEE), panelists discussed how political developments and the oil price decline are likely to impact producers in the region.
The Amazon rainforest, one of the world’s most important ecosystems, faces environmental impacts from hydroelectric dams, oil and gas drilling sites, and mining projects. A new database and analysis by the Inter-American Dialogue reveals that state-owned enterprises, as well as small and mid-sized international companies from a handful of countries, operate the largest share of such projects in the Amazon region, meaning these companies have a substantial influence over the implementation of environmental and social safeguards.
China’s development finance institutions demonstrated renewed interest in lending to LAC in 2022, issuing US$813 million in loans to three LAC governments or state institutions.
To better understand the role of Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago both globally and in the Caribbean, the Inter-American Dialogue convened a group of experts as part of the event Caribbean Energy Synergies.
In 2023, China’s development finance institution (DFI) issued two loans totaling $1.3 billion to Brazil. Chinese DFI lending in 2023 was slightly higher than the $863 million issued by CDB and Ex-Im Bank in 2022. Despite this slight increase, China’s sovereign lending remains modest.