Matthew Smith

Latest articles from Matthew

• Argentina’s Huge Vaca Muerta Shale Could Become A Stranded Asset

  Published 17 November 2020 | viewed 5,684 times

  Sharply weaker oil prices, growing threats to oil demand and the imminent arrival of peak oil demand could unleash a wave of stranded oil assets…

• Ecuador’s Vast Oil Wealth May Never Be Tapped

  Published 16 November 2020 | viewed 5,767 times

  Over a decade of resource nationalism, an alleged corrupt billion-dollar Ecuadorean court verdict against energy super major Chevron, economic instability, civil unrest and aging infrastructure…

• Will Venezuela’s Economic Crisis Remove Maduro From Power?

  Published 12 November 2020 | viewed 9,436 times

  In desperation, Maduro’s autocratic regime has turned to Iran, another pariah state, for assistance. The collapse of Venezuela’s once-mighty oil industry has not only caused…

• Can Colombia Replicate Brazil’s Offshore Oil Boom?

  Published 10 November 2020 | viewed 5,182 times

  While offshore Brazil, Guyana and to a lesser extent Suriname are gaining the lion’s share of attention when it comes to South American offshore oil,…

• Why South America’s Offshore Oil Sector Is Exploding

  Published 09 November 2020 | viewed 8,271 times

  Nearly a decade ago South America’s emerging offshore oil boom was viewed as a fad triggered by soaring oil prices which by 2011 had recovered…

• This Could Become The World’s Most Expensive Crude Oil

  Published 08 November 2020 | viewed 35,947 times

  This year has been turbulent for global energy markets. The COVID-19 pandemic and March 2020 price crash sent markets into a tailspin, which saw the…

• A Glimmer Of Hope For Colombia's Struggling Oil Industry

  Published 08 November 2020 | viewed 5,435 times

  Despite significant headwinds, including a prolonged oil price slump, Colombia’s national oil company Ecopetrol reported a solid third quarter 2020 profit with net income of…

• Venezuela’s Oil Industry Is On Its Last Legs

  Published 03 November 2020 | viewed 20,241 times

  Last week was devastating for Venezuela, its people and nearly collapsed oil industry. Oil production since the start of 2020 has fallen catastrophically to multi-decade…

• Light Sweet Crude Oil Is Taking Over The Market

  Published 03 November 2020 | viewed 9,487 times

  The popularity of light sweet crude oil among refiners is growing at a solid clip. The ongoing push to combat climate change and ever stricter…

• Argentina Is In Desperate Need Of An Oil Boom

  Published 02 November 2020 | viewed 6,613 times

  The administration of Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández is growing increasingly desperate to restart the burgeoning oil boom which was underway before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.…

• Can Ecuador Save Its Ailing Oil Sector?

  Published 01 November 2020 | viewed 4,322 times

  The tiny impoverished Latin American country of Ecuador continues to struggle with its legacy of resource nationalism. Even a push by the current administration of…

• Civil Unrest Could Crush Peru’s Oil Ambitions

  Published 31 October 2020 | viewed 1,404 times

  Peru has been one of the hardest-hit Latin American countries by the COVID-19 pandemic despite being one of the first to impose a strict lockdown…

• Could Fracking Help Save Colombia’s Oil Dependent Economy?

  Published 29 October 2020 | viewed 3,574 times

  For almost a decade the Andean country of Colombia has been battling to significantly boost its low proven petroleum reserves and lengthen the production life…

• Is Brazil’s Oil Boom Immune To COVID?

  Published 28 October 2020 | viewed 5,166 times

  An ongoing global supply glut and the COVID-19 pandemic have had a profound impact on the price of crude oil. Despite recovering after the March…

• Venezuela’s Oil Industry Could Take Decades To Recover

  Published 27 October 2020 | viewed 7,226 times

  There are considerable concerns that the vast oil reserves of Venezuela, totaling a billion barrels, could become a stranded asset. It was Venezuela’s burgeoning post-World…

• Will Colombia’s Struggling Oil Industry Ever Recover?

  Published 27 October 2020 | viewed 3,817 times

  After a positive start to 2020 there is little evidence of a sustained recovery for the Andean country’s economically crucial oil industry. Significantly weaker oil…

• The End Of Venezuela’s Oil Era

  Published 22 October 2020 | viewed 41,887 times

  Venezuela, once Latin America’s largest oil producer and a founding member of OPEC, has seen its economically vital oil industry collapse triggering one of the…

• There’s Nothing That Can Stop The World’s Next Oil Hotspot

  Published 20 October 2020 | viewed 14,721 times

  While the deeply impoverished South American country of Guyana is attracting the lion’s share of attention when it comes to oil, it is neighboring Suriname…

• Argentina’s Oil Boom Is Showing Signs Of Life

  Published 11 October 2020 | viewed 9,217 times

  After the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its economy, there are signs that Argentina’s once burgeoning oil industry is coming back to life.…

• Colombia Struggles To Overcome Its Oil Curse

  Published 06 October 2020 | viewed 4,155 times

  Colombia’s oil history began in 1918 and entered a golden age in the late 1980s. Then, earlier this century, a new petroleum boom started, which…