Gilinski Takes 56% of GeoPark and Enters Venezuela's Heavy Oil

The Gilinski Group will take control of GeoPark, an oil company that operates in Colombia and Argentina and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, through the acquisition of the Bare block, a heavy crude field in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt producing approximately 11,000 barrels per day. The deal, reported by Bloomberg Línea, makes the Colombian conglomerate the controlling shareholder in its entry into Venezuela.

The move follows the energy agreement announced between the United States and Venezuela, which opened the country's oil assets (Venezuela holds the world's largest proven crude reserves) to new operators. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Caracas on September 1 to follow up on the framework's implementation, The Guardian reported. For the region, the deal signals a flow of Latin American capital moving ahead of the major U.S. oil companies: the Gilinski Group's presence in Venezuela secured a 25-year contractual framework under a Contrato de Participación Productiva (CPP) with PDVSA Petróleo.

The Bare block holds approximately 15,700 million barrels of original oil in place and over 700 million barrels of cumulative production. It once produced more than 100,000 barrels per day and currently has approximately 1,100 wells. Current gross production stands at roughly 11,000 barrels per day, and GeoPark estimates a maximum potential of between 85,000 and 95,000 barrels per day, with over 10 years at a plateau of 55,000 to 62,000 net barrels per day and a target of raising the recovery factor from 4%-5% to 8%-9%. The consideration consists of 42.1 million shares at US$12.22 each, a 26% premium over the 30-day average, leaving Gilinski with 56.3% of the company and triggering a public offer of US$100 million. GeoPark will finance 100% of the development plan's investments in exchange for a 65% net economic interest, will maintain its NYSE listing, and has approximately US$700 million in liquidity available for field development.

The CPP's entry into force is subject to regulatory approvals and applicable sanctions conditions, with an estimated period of up to 120 days. Its progress will determine the pace of redevelopment, targeting approximately 400 million net cumulative barrels for GeoPark, and how quickly regional capital continues to move toward Venezuelan assets.

This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.