Venezuela mogul Cisneros partners with PDVSA in new oil venture with goals to quadruple production by 2026

(Bloomberg) – Venezuela business mogul Ricardo Cisneros signed a deal with Petróleos de Venezuela SA as the government offers greater control of the oil and gas industry to private partners.

Cisneros, who is chairman of Cisneros Corporation, is entering a joint venture with PDVSA through Globalable Holding SL. The JV known as Petrocabimas is based in the western Zulia state and is projected to quadruple current production to 50,000 bpd by 2026, Cisneros said in a statement. PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment.

After years of economic crisis, hyperinflation, mismanagement and sanctions, many foreign companies have left Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro has been working to attract new partners from both at home and abroad to revive oil production, increase revenue and reduce debt.

Cisneros, along with his brother Gustavo, took control of their father’s business empire in 1970, and in the 1980s, the clan began an expansion outside of its home market, buying up U.S.-based sports equipment and baby product maker Spalding & Evenflo and a stake in the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision.

He later purchased beer and soft drink maker Cervecería Regional and Los Leones del Caracas baseball franchise, the group’s first sports team.

His son Eduardo is the co-founder of a Florida-based private equity fund 3B1 Guacamaya, which in 2021 acquired stakes in a Venezuelan paint maker.

Maduro has recently inked deals offering energy partnerships to powerful family-owned conglomerates, like India’s Jindal Power Ltd. and Turkey’s Yildirim Group.