ELLA Policy Brief: Oil Industry Investment Policies

ELLA is the Evidence and Lessons from Latin America programme

From:
Department for International Development
Published
1 January 2011
Document Type:
Briefing
Theme:
Economic Growth
Authors:
Damonte, G.

Abstract

This brief presents a concise overview of the context of the Latin American oil industry and its performance. It analyses the advantages and disadvantages of the three main investment models followed, focusing primarily on the policy experience of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. Finally, it presents evidence and analysis suggesting that the state-private competitive model seems to have had the best performance in the current regional context.

Key Lessons:

  • The state-private model, with a dominant state role in an open market, seems to be the most economically successful and politically stable model in Latin America.
  • For this model to be successful, however, governments need to directly invest in the state oil company to improve its technical, financial and institutional performance.

Citation

Damonte, G. ELLA Policy Brief: Oil Industry Investment Policies. ELLA, Practical Action Consulting, Lima, Peru (2011) 5 pp.

Published 1 January 2011
Contents