Batista brothers consider grabbing a ‘piece’ of Venezuela’s oil sector

The J&F group, controlled by businessmen Joesley and Wesley Batista, monitors opportunities in Venezuela’s oil sector, but states that any progress will depend on the establishment of institutional stability and legal security in the country. The information is from the newspaper Valorwhich reports on the conglomerate’s reserved movements amid the new Venezuelan political scenario and the international context under the government of United States President Donald Trump.

When contacted, J&F denied having assets in Venezuela and said it was only monitoring recent developments. In an email response, the holding stated that, “once the scenario of institutional stability and legal certainty is established, we will be ready to evaluate investments”.

According to sources heard by Valorthe Batista brothers would be indirectly positioned in the sector through participation in the Petrolera Roraima project. According to these sources, Fluxus, an oil company controlled by the group, could enter this or other projects as soon as the regulatory and political environment becomes more predictable.

The report points out that the Venezuelan oil sector has entered a new phase following changes in the country’s political framework, in a context influenced by United States foreign policy. Despite its economic potential, the sector remains surrounded by legal uncertainties, commercial disputes and international strategic interests.

According to the investigation, before Nicolás Maduro’s removal from power, a commercial representative linked to the Batistas had acted to try to secure participation in a group of oil wells previously operated by ConocoPhillips. According to the report, the group’s strategy would be to position itself in a time of transition, while large companies await clearer definitions regarding legal rules, contractual guarantees and international sanctions.

O Valor further informs that, after the change of government, Joesley Batista began to work behind the scenes in the political transition. The week before the report was published, he had traveled from Washington to Caracas for a meeting with interim president Delcy Rodríguez.

According to one of the sources interviewed by the newspaper, Joesley returned to the United States with a positive assessment of the meeting, reporting to American authorities that Rodríguez demonstrated a willingness to attract foreign investment, especially in the oil and gas sector, considered strategic for the country’s economic recovery.

People close to the strategy attributed to the group claim that the Batistas have adopted caution in relation to Venezuela since the imposition of economic sanctions by the United States. According to the text, this stance would be related to the volume of investments that the family maintains in North American territory, including the poultry meat processor Pilgrim’s Pride, of which J&F is a relevant shareholder.

The report also recalls statements by President Donald Trump, who has already stated that the Venezuelan government appropriated assets from American companies, such as ConocoPhillips, during the process of nationalization of the oil sector that took place around two decades ago. According to the ValorTrump would not have signaled his intention to reverse these losses, which keeps the Venezuelan oil sector inserted in an environment of high political and economic complexity.

In the specific case of Petrolera Roraima, the newspaper reports that, in 2024, the Venezuelan Ministry of Petroleum granted exploration rights for 25 years of the former ConocoPhillips project to the company A&B Investments, led by Jorge Silva Cardona, described as a business partner of the Batista brothers.

After the concession, the project’s daily production would have reached around 32 thousand barrels between June and October 2024. However, according to the report, the volume fell significantly later, due to the blockade on Venezuelan oil exports determined by the Trump administration.

The Petrolera Roraima project is described as an engineering benchmark in the early 2000s, when refineries known as upgraders allowed the conversion of heavy Venezuelan oil into approximately 90,000 barrels per day of lighter synthetic oil. According to the Valorthe current corporate structure foresees 51% participation by the state-owned company PDVSA and 49% by A&B Investments.

The article also highlights the history of political and commercial relations of the J&F group in different countries. Among the examples cited is the donation made by Pilgrim’s Pride to the inaugural committee for Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025, considered the largest individual contribution to the event.

The text also mentions that, in the previous year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had requested support from Joesley Batista in negotiations with the United States government related to the removal of tariffs imposed on Brazilian products, according to the newspaper’s findings.

In the Venezuelan context, the Valor recalls that JBS, a J&F group company, in the past signed a contract worth around US$2.1 billion with the Maduro government to supply beef and poultry during a period of food shortages and hyperinflation. At the time, according to the report, the agreement was coordinated by Venezuelan government authorities, including Diosdado Cabello, currently Minister of the Interior.

In addition to the oil sector, one of the sources interviewed by the newspaper stated that the J&F group is also evaluating opportunities in the areas of mining and electrical infrastructure in Venezuela, indicating interest in a broader set of strategic assets in a country that seeks to reorganize its economy amid a process of political and institutional transition.