Olacde: Middle East conflict lifts Latin American hydrocarbon output

The Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (Olacde) says the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East has raised the region’s role as a hydrocarbon supplier. Regional natural‑gas production reached 22 000 billion cubic metres in March 2026, a 5 % increase over the same month a year earlier and above February’s level. Attacks on energy infrastructure and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have heightened global supply risks and price volatility, reinforcing the strategic importance of producers outside the Middle East.

Argentina led regional gas output with a 23 % share, followed by Trinidad and Tobago (21 %) and Brazil (15 %). Bolivia and Mexico each contributed about 10 %, with Venezuela (9 %), Peru (7 %), Colombia (5 %) and Ecuador (1 %). Oil production rose to 324 million barrels in March 2026, up 9 % year‑on‑year, with Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela together accounting for 69 % of the total. In the same month, 53 % of the region’s oil imports and 49 % of the value of gas imports were intra‑regional, indicating a high degree of energy integration.