The US is set to impose sanctions on Rosneft if it continues to trade crude oil and fuel with Venezuela's PDVSA in exchange for debt repayments and stakes in joint venture projects in the South American nation,

Accounting net income excluding non-recurring factors was US$ 1.3 billion and operating cash flow reached US$ 5.2 billion. Advances in pre-salt exploration, with lower lifting cost (US$ 6/boe) and better quality of oil, allowed adjusted EBITDA per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) in the exploration & production (E&P) business to reach US$ 33.50 in 2Q19 against US$ 29.50 last year, despite the drop in average Brent oil prices from US$ 71.0 to US$ 68.8.

The World Bank Group mobilized over $14.4 billion in lending and guarantees to support sustainable development and poverty reduction in Latin American and the Caribbean during the 2019 fiscal year ending June 30.

Economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean remains sluggish. Real GDP is expected to grow by 0.6 percent in 2019—the slowest rate since 2016—before rising to 2.3 percent in 2020.

Brazil's GDP growth is projected at 0.8 percent in 2019 and to accelerate in 2020 conditional on the approval of a robust pension reform and favorable financial conditions. The current budget is guided by the federal expenditure ceiling, entailing a minor reduction of the structural primary balance in 2019.

U.S. EIA - Argentina’s domestic natural gas production has been rising steadily in the past three years, largely because of increasing production from the Neuquén Basin’s Vaca Muerta shale and tight gas play. Production from Vaca Muerta surpassed 1.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in December 2018.

PDVSA and its joint ventures exported 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and refined products last month, a 26% increase over May. Chinese buyers took 59% of the shipments, followed by India with 18% and Singapore with 10%, the documents showed.

Natural gas demand seasonality and growth in shale production have supported the development of LNG exports in Argentina. Argentina’s natural gas consumption peaks during the austral winter (May to September) and remains relatively low during the rest of the year.

Venezuela's exports of crude oil and refined products fell 17% in May from the previous month to 874,500 barrels per day

Argentina and Russia have set up a working group tasked with specifying the project on the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) in the Latin American country,

Brazil has seen its exports of crude grow from 734,000 b/d in 2015 to 1.3 million b/d in Q1 of this year. In contrast, Mexico, which was once a powerhouse of oil production, has maintained its export status only through curtailment of domestic refining, not increased crude oil output.

After contracting by almost 7 percent during the 2015-16 recession, real GDP grew by only 1.1 percent per year in 2017 and 2018.

Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA exported 1.416 million barrels of combined crude and products in May to Cuba's state Cubametales, up from 355,000 barrels in April.

Crudes are being priced at Dated Brent discounts between $15/b and $17/b, FOB, according to a PDVSA report.

Despite significant U.S. oil sanctions on the OPEC member nation, Maduro has held on to power, backed by Cuba, Russia and China, and retains the support of the country’s military and other institutions.