Venezuela’s abundant hydrocarbons are beckoning a new generation of investors, stepping in where more established companies are pulling out.
By Argus – Patricia Garip
Sep 8, 2021
Sucre Energy, a Netherlands-based and Spanish-registered private equity company, acquired the central Venezuelan assets of Japan’s Inpex in a deal that closed in May for an undisclosed sum. In an interview with Argus, Sucre directors Santiago Fontiveros and Nicolas Faillece say Venezuela is at an inflection point in the oil investment cycle, regardless of which way the political winds blow.
The main asset acquired by Sucre is a 70pc stake in Gas Guárico, currently producing around 53mn cf/d of gas. Venezuela’s state-owned PdV, which has a wholesale gas monopoly through PdV Gas, holds the remaining 30pc. The other newly acquired asset is a 30pc stake in PetroGuárico, a marginal oil field joint venture controlled by PdV with 70pc.
The acquisition marks Sucre’s first direct upstream investment in Venezuela. The company is already an indirect minority shareholder in PdV-led oil joint venture Petroregional del Lago (PRDL) through Maurel and Prom, the French unit of Indonesia’s state-owned Pertamina that purchased Shell’s 40pc stake for $80mn in late 2018.
Sucre sees the most upside in gas. “We believe there will be more realistic adjustments in the gas price so license holders will keep investing and producing gas,” Fontiveros said. “We don’t have a crystal ball, but we believe it will happen sooner rather than later.”
Venezuela has long focused on crude rather than gas, much of which is flared. Capturing that gas offers potential carbon offset opportunities, Sucre says.
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