In the lead up to this year’s La Jolla Conference, the energy world was rocked by the return of volatility in international oil markets. Promising to course through all of the agenda topics at the conference, the price of oil was indeed on the minds of attendees.

But the specter of lower oil prices that seemingly threatened to overshadow all other energy trends in 2015 has not entirely played out. The US shale revolution bubble has not burst nor does it appear that price issues alone will seriously undermine Mexico’s Round One oil and gas auction. And renewable energy projects are not being mothballed.

Dropping rig counts in the United States has not led directly to corresponding declines in production, and exports of liquefied natural gas are set to plug the US into the global gas market beyond North America. The debate over US crude oil exports rumbles on, more a victim of the political calendar than oil prices.

Experts and panelists at the Institute of the Americas’ XXIV La Jolla Energy Conference on May 20-21 underscored Latin America’s relative competitiveness in spite of the current downturn. Several speakers were quick to emphasize that this is not your father’s oil price collapse.

On the other hand, there is surely near-term uncertainty facing the region’s outlook, but also several fundamentals that point to significant potential in the medium and long-term. Indeed, many panelists cautioned that in Mexico and other parts of the region, patience remains a virtue. In addition, how the region embraces and adapts the lessons from the US unconventional revolution, particularly in terms of cost and efficiency figure importantly into the mosaic of opportunities for the region’s investment and production outlook.

Whether due to the oil price downturn or not, the discussions that surrounded the understanding of the regional energy context and what could perhaps be called the aura of competition across several key energy markets were intriguing. The newly installed head of Colombia’s regulator, ANH, minced no words when he noted that Colombia had to do a better job competing for and retaining investors, particularly as Mexico moves forward with its Round One auction.

Representatives from Mexico, which was a bit maligned at the conference for its increasingly bureaucratic implementation of the nation’s energy reform, also made great efforts to highlight the interest and attractiveness of the three calls offered to date. A representative of the country’s hydrocarbon commission, CNH, also spoke to efforts to redress pervasive complaints over contract stipulations and terms, revisions due out only days after the La Jolla Conference.
But beyond oil prices and competition, it bears noting that energy security has become more important than ever in the region. Countries are focused on efforts to refine domestic energy markets through offshore exploration, unconventional resources, efficiencies in power generation, and revitalized and improved energy integration.

Additionally, confronting above ground or non-technical risks that stem from environmental and community concerns and institutional weaknesses have quickly ascended the list of priorities for policy makers and industry.
Beyond the uncontrollable element of international oil prices, if countries in Latin America are able to address many of the aforementioned issues and other concerns, there will be no shortage of opportunities for energy players and the region’s outlook should command attention. To keep a glass-half-full outlook, it is useful to recall how a panelist from US-based equity fund Carlyle Group described the potential for Mexico’s energy investment future: mind blowing.

The need for flexibility, sustainability, certainty, patience and international best practices were oft-repeated refrains by panelists at the Institute of the Americas’ Mexico Electricity Roundtable.

Almost one hundred attendees from Mexico, the United States and Central America convened on April 9 in Mexico City to discuss the outlook for the electric sector and where Mexico’s energy reform measures stood. Discussions of the draft wholesale electric market rules, the evolving regulatory framework and the role for renewables and natural gas featured prominently.

Sounding much like a management class syllabus, a deeper dive reveals that flexibility, sustainability, certainty, patience and international best practices are a useful summation of the challenges and opportunities in Mexico as it rewrites its electric rules.

The need for flexibility will become ever more apparent as the government refines the market rules over the coming months. And as one former California regulator suggested, “flexible compliance” is a concept that should inform the rules’ implementation once they are set in place on January 1, 2016.

Further, insuring that not only the first several months and year under the new rules are successful will require that the market fosters competition and thus provides sustainability.

Investors’ desire for certainty was perhaps one of the most oft-repeated intonations over the course of discussions, and with good reason. When making significant long-term investments, companies and firms desire predictability and certitude.

On the other side of the coin is the need for patience, particularly in the Mexican context of overhauling 75 years of a statist approach.

But while patience is a virtue for all involved, it should also provide the opportunity for Mexico to redouble its analysis of international best practices. What has worked and what pratfalls to avoid from across the globe should continue to inform the development of the electric market in Mexico. That is to say, continuing to move Mexico up the electric sector learning curve is crucial.

Mexico continues to make international headlines as it strives to overturn years of state control of its energy sector for a market-oriented structure. Many arguments in favor of the reform focused on the role it will play in enhancing Mexico’s competitivity and, perhaps most relevant for the general public, reducing energy costs, specifically power bills across the country.

Without a doubt, the draft market rules announced in late February have unleashed much debate and analysis. The Mexican government has provided assurances that the process is open to feedback and will represent a transparent evolution to find the most balanced and appropriate approach. The next version will be unveiled later this year and the market goes into effect on December 31.

In Argentina, excitement abounds but confidence is king. And such confidence can only be obtained through a policy path with clear and consistent rules. In a country known for its love of beef, that its energy future might be defined by an oil and gas field known as Vaca Muerta, or dead cow, is delightfully appropriate.

The true linchpin of energy sector optimism in Argentina, however, is based on the US Energy Information Administration’s analysis that indicates the country contains the world’s second largest shale gas resource and fourth largest shale oil. Add a presidential election in October that will bring a change in government to this world class energy resource and you have the recipe for a potential national resurgence. Many have argued that the market fundamentals for a lift off also appear strong.

After what can only be described as a rocky decade for the Argentine economy and energy sector, Vaca Muerta and the nation’s unconventional resource potential has greatly revived attention and hope. But as elsewhere in the world, it is critical for Argentina to distinguish between what the energy industry calls a resource and what is considered a reserve. Simply put, reserves are by definition economic or bankable while resources are a more optimistic and less tangible assessment and not entirely bankable.

Argentina’s national oil company, YPF, has set forth a clear strategy focused on reversing the trend of declining oil production, with Vaca Muerta at the core of its efforts. Production of roughly 40,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent from Vaca Muerta is an important milestone for Argentina and also marks the first unconventional resource production in South America.

Representatives from YPF, local economists, and international players gathered at the Institute of the Americas Argentina Energy Roundtable on March 19 to debate the sustainable development of the country’s unconventional resources, the energy sector and regional integration more broadly, and particularly the challenges facing the energy sector as an economic driver. The direct linkage between energy and economy in Argentina cut through all the panels and discussions.

At the core of YPF’s efforts to recover production for the country and a sustainable development framework are two pillars: increased productivity of resource extraction and reduced well costs.

Managing the complexity of Argentina’s unconventional resource and adapting technology and innovation to local conditions enhances productivity. These measures will aid the effort to find the sweet spots that are key to high production and at which point the so-called factory drilling approach can be most efficient. Factory drilling is synonymous with a large-scale drilling campaign far outpacing the 300 or so wells drilled in Argentina’s unconventional fields in 2014, and will bring both overall production and drilling productivity more in line with the amount and quantities in the United States’ most prolific shale plays.

For many years, the high cost per unconventional well in Argentina has cast a dubious shadow over the potential of the resource. As recently as 2011, the cost per well was around $11 million. YPF aims to almost halve that figure to $7 million by the end of this year. Reducing these costs by enhancing local know how as well as efforts such as developing a local sand source for use in drilling are a huge challenge that must be overcome to seize the opportunity that Vaca Muerta and the rest of the nation’s unconventional resource potential holds. Reducing costs will also allow for a greater number of wells to be drilled and boost progression up the local learning curve.

Long a major energy exporter and pioneer in the development of natural gas and regional integration, Argentina currently has an energy deficit on the order of $6 – 8 billion per year as a result of energy imports. These include natural gas by pipeline from Bolivia, LNG tankers at spot market prices and oil.

The energy deficit as well as pervasive energy subsidies are the result of thorny policy choices made over the last several years by the national government and in the wake of a major economic crisis. One noted economist likens the current situation to the game of “Jenga,” in which a tower of blocks easily collapses if you pull out the wrong piece.

How to best unwind the subsidies and reduce the energy deficit are sure to be significant features of the electoral season and figure prominently in each candidates’ platform. Moreover, both subsidies and the import imbalance are policies that must be addressed by the next administration.

A final piece of good news rests in the opportunity for reigniting regional integration. Dating to massive infrastructure investments made in the 1990’s, coupled with LNG infrastructure in the 2000’s, the major pieces of the regional integration puzzle remain in place. Despite disuse, they can easily be dusted off. Moreover, the international agreements to provide a new phase, call it regional integration 2.0, are in place.

More must be done to move to a new, integrated regional reality including use of energy swaps, as well as reversing long-held views over issues such as natural gas being shipped east from Chile and potentially onward to Brazil, and Chilean electricity generated from LNG imports destined for Argentina’s power market.

But, unlike how successfully Vaca Muerta and Argentina’s other unconventional resources are developed, the future for a new regional integration paradigm does not entirely depend on what type of national energy policy each country chooses, only that each nation sets a path with clear and consistent rules that provide confidence and stability.