A sustained oil price of $100 a barrel could unlock up to 2.1 million barrels per day of additional crude supply in South America by the mid-2030s, energy research firm Rystad Energy said on Wednesday.
The forecast comes as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced Rystad to revise its 2026 Brent oil average price forecast to $89 per barrel from $60 in January.
Offshore developments in Brazil, Guyana and Suriname could deliver more than one million barrels of oil equivalent per day over the next decade.
Under a $100-per-barrel scenario, Venezuela could add 910,000 bpd by 2035, with 57 per cent from existing fields where medium crude operating costs run at $7-$8 per barrel.
Argentina's Vaca Muerta crude production is forecast to reach one million bpd by end-decade from current 600,000 bpd.
Government revenues across South America are expected to rise by $43 billion this year under the $89 per barrel forecast.
"South America is now positioned as the world's most consequential source of incremental supply," Radhika Bansal, senior vice president of oil and gas research at Rystad Energy said in a statement.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry, Writing by Iñigo Alexander; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle)
