US investment groups are racing to capitalize on the reopening of Venezuela’s oil sector, targeting underinvested oil fields and launching new investment vehicles after US President Donald Trump’s January call for companies to invest $100 billion to help rebuild the country’s energy industry, the Financial Times reported.Among the first movers is Miami-based Lionheart Capital, which has signed a letter of intent aimed at merging its publicly listed subsidiary, Lionheart Holdings, with Keo Energy, a group with oil assets in Venezuela’s Maracaibo Basin, according to London-based business daily FT.A source familiar with the proposed deal told the Financial Times that the merger would create the first Nasdaq-listed company to provide US and institutional investors direct access to Venezuelan oil assets.
Lionheart plans to list the oil company at a valuation of about $1 billion through a merger with blank-check company Lionheart Holdings, which raised $230 million in a 2024 IPO.
The source added that although preliminary talks have begun, no final agreement has been reached and discussions could still collapse. Lionheart Holdings is also seeking shareholder approval next week to extend the time available to complete the acquisition.
QEnergy, a subsidiary of Sweden’s Maha Capital, owns a 40% stake in Petro Urdaneta, the Venezuelan oil company that controls onshore oil fields in the Maracaibo Basin. The asset, which produced hundreds of thousands of barrels per day in the 1950s, now produces less than 2,000 barrels per day after decades of underinvestment. Venezuela’s state-owned company PDVSA holds the remaining 60% stake.According to an investor presentation seen by the Financial Times, Petro Urdaneta’s production could rise to 54,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2029 with new investments.The Financial Times reported that Washington lifted sanctions that allowed American companies to invest in the Venezuelan oil sector following the military operation in January that led to the overthrow of communist leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelan authorities later approved a new oil and gas law that weakens the role of PDVSA and allows private companies to operate wells directly.Since then, major energy groups including Repsol, Eni and Shell have signed agreements to reopen the sector.
Local executives are traveling the country looking for new deals, the report said.Brian Sheffield, co-founder of Austin-based private equity group Formentera Partners, and one of the executives who attended a White House summit in January focused on Venezuela, told the Financial Times that he visited the country in April and met with interim President Delcy Rodriguez.“We talked about the oil and gas sector and what that could mean for Venezuela, and it could be a game-changer,” Sheffield said.He added that Formentera has not yet made a final decision on the investment but has sent a team to evaluate the opportunities.Ali Moshiri, the former head of Chevron’s Latin American operations, told the Financial Times that his global energy management fund Amos is seeking to raise $2 billion, and has already identified multiple Venezuelan oil assets for potential investment.The renewed interest has revitalized Venezuela’s oil industry.“My phone hasn’t stopped ringing,” an oil executive in Maracaibo told the Financial Times. “Banks want to lend and people want to make deals.”A fund manager in Caracas told the newspaper that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East had increased investor interest. “It’s unbelievable: the Middle East is on fire and Venezuela is stable,” he said.Interest in investing is also spreading beyond oil. Yorkville Advisors, a financial group with ties to the Trump family, launched a SPAC last month that plans to raise $200 million to acquire a Venezuelan company, the Financial Times reported.Meanwhile, Miami-based Grupo Cisneros said in April it had acquired two-thirds of a planned $1 billion investment fund, known as Intrepida, which targets sectors including agribusiness, telecommunications and real estate.“I was surprised at how easy it was to raise capital,” Adriana Cisneros, CEO of Grupo Cisneros, said during an April press conference at the Caracas Stock Exchange.“It’s a very interesting mix, with a lot of family offices in America and Latin America, and some institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds.”