Opec rally fails to aid crippled Latin oil giants

Washington

FOR the three titans of Latin American oil - Pemex, PDVSA and Petrobras - last week's Opec-driven price rally won't be enough to halt a slow descent from the ranks of international crude heavyweights.

Even as news of the cartel's 1.2 million-barrel-a-day output cut spurred the steepest three-day oil gain in 15 months, the biggest Latin American producers remain hobbled by financial, political, technical and structural problems. Mexico and Brazil have been turning to outside investors to help boost output, with Mexico on Monday offering up stakes for the first time to drill in its deep waters.