Maha Capital buys stake in Venezuelan oil field

March 18 – Maha Capital, a Stockholm-listed oil company controlled by the Brazilian asset manager Starboard, exercised its right to acquire a 24% stake in a Venezuelan oil field following the easing of sanctions by the United States.

The decision came after the US Treasury Department authorized transactions with the state-owned PDVSA this week, paving the way for the reactivation of projects in the country.

The asset in question is the PetroUrdaneta field in Lake Maracaibo, where Maha held a purchase option on the stake previously held by Novonor (formerly Odebrecht). The company paid US$5 million for the option in 2023 and would need to disburse another US$5 million to exercise it. The company will transfer its stake to subsidiaries in the United States, a structure necessary to operate under the new US license.

Currently producing around 2,000 barrels per day, the field has the potential to multiply that volume. According to chairman Paulo Mendonça, production could reach 15,000 barrels per day in the short term, with room for further expansion after investments.

The thesis goes beyond production: the field’s light oil could be used to blend with Venezuelan heavy oil, while the natural gas could supply operations in the region – a model similar to that adopted by Chevron in neighboring assets.

For Maha, the asset could be transformational. Internal estimates indicate that the stake could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a scenario of Venezuelan normalization, given a relatively low initial investment.

This move comes amid pressure on Washington to ease sanctions against the South American country, driven by the recent rise in energy prices due to the conflict in Iran.