Natural gas is the fastest growing energy source worldwide, including South America. But to ensure steady growth of the fuel, market distortions must be dealt with in order to properly exploit gas for the purposes of electrification, transportation, industrial, petrochemicals, etc. And the great potential success for the region?s gas market is in the shadow of storm clouds lingering overhead. State intervention is increasingly present, reserves stagnant, and a fall in energy prices has resulted in an exodus of rigs from the region. In this report we will analyze the potential scenarios that the gas industry faces in Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and Argentina, as well as the development models they are following.

Business News Americas held its third Andean and Caribbean region Energy Integration Congress in July, followed by the sixth Southern Cone EIC earlier this month. With the backdrop of the global financial crisis and the wave of nationalizations that have run their course in the more volatile countries, there was plenty of food for thought. In this report we run through the way these and other events have shaped the ongoing prospects for the region's hydrocarbon and electricity systems.

Global trading of carbon credits and emissions permits has been underway for some seven years now, and general awareness of the concept really took off when the 1997 Kyoto Protocol took effect in 2005. The Protocol spells out goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2012, and the signatory nations are scheduled to discuss goals beyond 2012 at a climate change summit to be held in Copenhagen in December this year. The summit meeting comes just as the carbon market is getting used to the effects of the global financial crisis and represents yet another factor that could radically alter the market's behavior.

Argentina is well aware of its diminishing gas reserves, yet prices are low and consumption is increasing, creating a high-pressure situation that affects domestic power generation and even industrial operations in neighboring countries. In this report BNamericas considers the strategies being applied by the government to tackle this problem and to improve its electricity supply.

Wind power promises to solve several problems for the New World, but the characteristics that make Latin America a land of opportunities also place it out on a limb, with attendant difficulties when it comes to tapping into the experience and expertise that the developed world has accumulated. In this report BNamericas shows how Latin American governments are treating this technology as a viable alternative and taking steps to deal with the obstacles.

Most Latin American countries are net oil importers, and as crude prices skyrocketed in recent years biofuels came on the scene as an alleviating factor. However, the global financial crisis has caused crude prices to tumble, and conversion into biofuels is no longer such a cost effective destiny for the crops behind this industry. In this report BNamericas looks at the options for those who have invested in the infrastructure that supports the biofuels industry in Latin America.

As global supplies of light and medium grade crude dwindle, heavier grade deposits are coming to the forefront and oil companies are inevitably considering the expense and logistics of working these fields. The Andean basins are home to a significant portion of the world's heavy deposits and Colombia in particular has been actively promoting the opportunity. In this report BNamericas outlines the extent of these resources and compares the exploitation prospects in the key Andean countries.

An industry report in 2008 suggested that the opening of fresh gas reserves in Trinidad & Tobago has come to a standstill, and the country is depleting known reserves at a rapid pace. This report describes the full extent of the problem and outlines the options that might bring the industry back into equilibrium.

After more than two decades without considering expansion of the nuclear option, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina all announced projects during the last three years - either to build new atomic power stations or increase the capacity of existing ones. Furthermore, for varying motives and to differing degrees, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador have begun discussing nuclear energy in recent years. This "resurrection" of atomic energy in Latin America is in line with a global tendency. In this report BNamericas looks at the outlook for nuclear power over the next few years.

Latin American countries that had hoped for a stable 2009 following last year's volatility in the energy markets are in for a disappointment. The global economic crisis that sent commodity prices crashing in late 2008 will continue to rock energy markets most of this year, threatening margins of oil and gas producers, diminishing the availability of project financing and draining government coffers. To make sense of Latin America's energy industry in these tumultuous times, this report will take an in-depth look at industries in the region's biggest economies, focusing on upstream oil & gas markets, refining and power generation. This edition also includes our 2008 Year in Review and a ranking of the Top TEN energy companies for 2009.