The Daily Journal — Fluxus Oil, Gas & Energy, owned by Brazilian businessmen Joesley and Wesley Batista, has acquired a stake in a Venezuelan oil production project, according to a Bloomberg report. The transaction adds to a series of private agreements that have emerged following the sanctions relief promoted by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sources who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity said Fluxus completed the acquisition of A&B Oil and Gas in recent months. The acquired company holds a 49% stake in the Petrolera Roraima joint venture with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). The parties did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.
Production expansion in the Orinoco Belt
Petrolera Roraima (Petrororaima) operates in the Orinoco Oil Belt. ConocoPhillips managed the project until Venezuela expropriated its local assets in 2007.
With Fluxus taking part in the project’s operations, the partners plan to expand the field’s production capacity. Bloomberg reported that “the partners plan to increase Petrororaima’s crude oil production to 120,000 barrels per day within five years, compared with only about one-quarter of that amount today.”
The sources also said the company believes the transaction falls within the scope of the current licenses issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The agreement marks the third Venezuelan oil project to become public within a week, following announcements involving independent firms Lionheart Capital and Pacific Coast Energy Co., under the regulatory framework promoted during Acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s administration.
Investment strategy and longstanding presence
Sources told Bloomberg that the Batista family’s interest in Venezuela’s energy and mining sectors remains unchanged. The report noted that “the strategy has not changed after last month’s devastating earthquakes along Venezuela’s central coast.”
The Batista brothers have maintained business ties with Venezuela for more than a decade. Their agribusiness subsidiary JBS signed a $2.1 billion food supply contract with the Venezuelan government. By acquiring A&B Oil and Gas, Fluxus gains a direct presence in the Orinoco Oil Belt at a time when Venezuela’s oil production stands at approximately 1.2 million barrels per day.
With information from Bloomberg.
