Latin America's petroleum surge gathers momentum

Journal Article · Mon Jun 05 04:00:00 EDT 1978 · Oil Gas J.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6605038

Franco, A

Latin America has quietly taken over the title of the world's busiest oil and gas region among prime petroleum theaters outside North America. The area this year will see more line miles of geophysical surveys, more wells and more footage drilled, and more rigs active than any other major producing region except the U.S. Latest figures (quarter ending March 31, 1978) show 359 rigs active in Latin America--some 91% more than in the Middle East or Asia-Pacific, 114% more than in Africa, and 168% more than in Europe (including North Sea). Some of the prime reasons for the Latin American surge include (1) Mexico clearly is emerging as a major world-scale producer of oil and gas; (2) Venezuelan activity is reviving spectacularly on all fronts; (3) Brazil is implementing a 3-yr strategic exploratory program which calls for 350 offshore wells and spending of several billion dollars; (4) Argentina is opening to private companies high-potential tracts for exploration and development; and (5) big gas discoveries in Colombia have paved the way for intensified operations in that country. A map of Latin America shows the exploratory regions described in this study.

• OSTI ID: 6605038
• Journal Information: Oil Gas J.; (United States), Journal Name: Oil Gas J.; (United States) Vol. 76:23; ISSN OIGJA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
DRILLING
DRILLING RIGS
EXPLORATORY WELLS
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
INDUSTRY
LATIN AMERICA
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
OFFSHORE DRILLING
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
SURVEYS
WELLS