It is not Venezuela: which is the country that produces the most oil in Latin America?

Despite the climate crisis, the international market continues to require large quantities of crude oil, although the idea is that this trend will decrease as renewable energies take their place. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), world oil production will increase by 5.8 million barrels per day by 2028.

Although at first the countries that led the supply of crude oil were Venezuela, Mexico and Ecuador, now the scenario has changed and other territories occupy this place. In this note, we tell you what they are and where they get their reservations from.

Which country leads oil production?

Guyana It is one of the smallest and poorest countries in South America; However, its luck changed since the American oil company ExxonMobil discovered its first oil reserve in the Atlantic Ocean. It is estimated that, in 2028, this territory could produce 1.2 million barrels per day.

“Guyana is going to become the country that produces the most barrels per inhabitant in the world, surpassing Kuwait”said Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at the Baker Institute at Rice University (Texas, USA), to BBC Mundo.

Brazil, the other protagonist of the oil boom

Together with Guyana, Brazil It will be the other country that will lead the production of crude oil, whose reserves are also extracted from marine deposits. In 2017 it surpassed Mexico, which was previously the protagonist of oil supply, while Venezuela is in a deep crisis that has damaged its authority in this area.

Brazil has not stopped and in 2022 it will produce 2.2 million barrels. Furthermore, unlike other countries, its production stands out for being more efficient and profitable. According to Monaldi, both Brazil and Guyana emit a lower amount of CO2 per barrel compared to the world average, highlighting that this is one of the main causes of the climate crisis in the world.