LatinOil

In Short: BP surprised everyone with a $2.4bn quarterly profit — a third higher than expected — and its biggest oil discovery in 25 years: the “Bumerangue” field off Brazil’s coast. The find cements South America’s position as the world’s fastest-growing oil region, with Brazil, Guyana, and Argentina leading the charge.

What’s going on?
South America is shaping up to be oil’s next blockbuster stage. Brazil’s output is surging past 3.7m barrels a day this year, and the Bumerangue discovery will only fuel the rush, boosting interest ahead of Brazil’s October oil rights auction. Guyana is a rising star too — Stabroek Block alone could take it from under 1m barrels a day now to over 1.2m by 2030, despite corporate squabbles between Exxon and Chevron. And in Argentina, President Milei’s pro-business shift has unleashed Vaca Muerta’s shale riches, with production up 26% year-on-year and a new pipeline set to turbocharge exports.

With US shale fields maturing, the industry’s growth spotlight is drifting south. For oil majors, South America now looks less like a frontier market and more like the main event — and BP just bought front-row seats.

How Does This Impact Law Firms?