Latin America's hobbled oil giants

Plagued by debt, low oil prices and political turmoil, times have been troubled for Latin America's state-run energy firms

The quiet rivalry among Latin America's three largest national oil companies (NOCs) continues to rage, though none has covered themselves in glory lately. Venezuela's PdV is mired in the country's economic and political crisis and has been on the brink of defaulting on its international debt obligations for the past 18 months. Brazil's Petrobras has been at the centre of the largest corruption scheme the nation has ever seen and been forced to dramatically curtail its world-beating growth plans. The closest thing to a bright spot for the region's big three NOCs has been Mexico's Pemex. The nation's energy reforms are opening new avenues for the company to bring in badly needed capital and te