I'm willing to wager that you think of Saudi Arabia or Russia when you contemplate the world's most active oil-producing areas. Funny, though, how things change. The real oily activity these days seems to be coming out of South America, not the Middle East or Siberia.
You know about Venezuela's Castro wannabe President Hugo Chavez's nationalization of his oil reserves in the lush Orinoco River basin. In the process, he sent half a dozen western oil companies packing as operators. The loss of the expertise from, for instance, ExxonMobil
But my goodness, the news has just come from the country -- it's state-run news agency, mind you -- that in just the past three months, Venezuela's proven oil reserves have increased by 9.4%. Chavez's minions are now claiming 142.3 billion barrels as their reserves number, up from the 130 billion barrel figure they've been using since May.
That news follows yet another find by a Petrobras-led
And it's not just Hugo's folks and Petrobras who are having all the fun south of the border. Not long ago I told my Foolish friends about a very small company, Gran Tierra Energy
But for my money, Petrobras continues to be the real story in Latin America. Despite discovering Tupi and Iara -- and an ongoing drilling program that's keeping Transocean
But with its shares now in the low $40s, versus the middle $70s in the spring, this is a company that warrants attention from Fools with a taste for oil.
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