Oil and gas prices are on the up and Latin American producers should be able to reap some benefits thanks to recent cost-cutting efforts, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.

WTI crude price consensus

Latin American oil and gas companies have before tax full-cycle costs of approximately $34/bbl, Fitch said. This is well below most price forecasts for this year and the coming years.

Bank of America Corp. (BofA) analysts said last week that pent-up demand and an accompanying spike in travel this summer and into next year should put upward pressure on oil prices, with Brent crude potentially peaking at $100/bbl in 2022.

Average before-tax full-cycle costs for Latin American oil producers have marginally declined over the past three years to $34/bbl in 2020 from $36 in 2018 due to modest...