Latin America’s oil production reaches 318 million barrels in April

Oil production in Latin America and the Caribbean reached 318 million barrels in April, according to the latest bulletin from the Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization, known as Olade. The figure marked a 10% increase from April the previous year, but a 2% decline from March.

Brazil led regional production with 42%, followed by Mexico with 17% and Venezuela with 11%. Together, the three countries supplied 70% of the region’s oil. Guyana accounted for 9%, Argentina 8%, Colombia 7% and Ecuador 4%.

The bulletin said 21% of the value of the region’s total oil exports went to destinations within Latin America and the Caribbean. Most exports therefore went to markets outside the region. In contrast, 54% of the value of total oil imports came from intraregional trade, with the remainder supplied by markets beyond the region.

Natural gas production reached 21.7 million cubic meters, an 8.5% increase from the same month a year earlier and a 2.3% decline from March. Production remained concentrated among a small group of countries. Argentina and Trinidad and Tobago each produced 22% of the regional total, followed by Brazil with 14%, Bolivia with 12% and Mexico with 10%. Venezuela, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador shared the remaining 20%.

The bulletin placed the figures in a period of heightened tension in the Middle East. It said a conflict that began in late February had expanded from a limited confrontation into simultaneous land and maritime fronts, disrupting trade routes and increasing global uncertainty.