South America’s Top 3 Fastest-Growing Oil Producers

Investment Plans - Petrobras has allocated $77 billion for investment in exploration and production operations from 2025 to 2029, with $47 billion (6%) specifically for pre-salt assets [1] - The company plans to drill 51 new offshore exploration and appraisal wells during this period and deploy 10 floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, seven of which will be for pre-salt oilfields [1] Production Growth - Brazil's crude oil output is projected to reach 5 million barrels per day by 2030, driven by Petrobras, which accounts for over 61% of the country's total hydrocarbon output [2] - By June 2025, Brazil's hydrocarbon output had increased by 60% compared to a decade earlier, reaching 4.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day [3] - Petrobras' production is expected to rise from 2.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025 to 3.2 million barrels by 2029, with 81% of this output coming from pre-salt oilfields [5] Regional Developments - Brazil, Guyana, and Argentina are identified as top non-OPEC oil producers driving global production growth, with significant oil booms occurring in these countries [4] - Argentina has emerged as South America's third-largest oil producer, with hydrocarbon output hitting record highs due to the Vaca Muerta shale formation [6][7] - Guyana's oil production is rapidly increasing, with output expected to reach 900,000 barrels per day by the end of 2025, potentially making it South America's third-largest oil producer [12][13] Future Projections - Analysts forecast that Guyana could lift around 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent daily by the end of 2030, ranking it as the world's eleventh-largest hydrocarbon producer [13] - YPF in Argentina plans to invest $35.7 billion between 2025 and 2030, aiming to boost its net hydrocarbon production to one million barrels daily by 2030 [8][9][10]