An Energy Panorama of Latin America

© Oxford University Press 2011. All rights reserved. This chapter notes that Latin America as a region is self-sufficient in energy and indeed a net exporter. After looking at the regional energy matrix in the second section, the third section examines the legal changes in the hydrocarbon sector in the 1990s and in the first decade of the twenty-first century. The fourth section looks at investment patterns in this sector in recent years, where the weight of state-owned enterprises is very high. The fifth and sixth sections examine the growing importance of two energy sources: natural gas, including liquefied natural gas, which has become more important for both domestic consumption and regional integration; and renewable energy, particularly biofuels, a recent addition to the region's energy matrix. The seventh section analyses regional integration initiatives. The eighth section presents an overall balance of the region's energy sector.