Fred Ehrsam is trying to take over at least three producing areas in Venezuela, according to people familiar with ongoing talks that are not public. The assets sit in the Boca, Guico and Guara blocks of the Orinoco Belt and are operated today by Alvorada Heavy Industries Ltda.
US officials are evaluating whether to revoke the contracts tied to those blocks, the people said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is due in Caracas this week, where he plans to showcase as many as 17 energy agreements. The moves come as Washington overhauls parts of Venezuela's oil sector and swaps out some Maduro-era operators for investors aligned with the Trump administration.
Alvorada arrived at the fields around 2023 and, after entering, put about $30 million to work restarting shut-in wells, according to one person. The person said PDVSA forced Alvorada to retain a locally well-connected contractor, which drove up expenses even during production stoppages.
More recently, Alvorada had been adjusting to Venezuela's new hydrocarbons statute and pushing to lift production when pressure from Washington intensified. In July, the company bought Texas producer Calistoga Energy Reserves LLC to set up a US base and manage its Venezuela strategy out of that base, Buzanelli told Brazilian outlet Exame. One person said Alvorada is seeking dialogue with US officials to protect its investment. Alvorada declined to comment.
Ehrsam, a billionaire and Coinbase Global Inc. co-founder, has repeatedly traveled to Caracas and held meetings with high-level officials from both the US and Venezuela as he surveys prospects in energy as well as in fintech and digital payments, Bloomberg News said in May. People familiar with the matter say he has also leaned on contacts in Washington while evaluating Venezuelan assets. Ehrsam did not respond to an email seeking comment, and a spokesperson for Primavera, a firm he co-founded to invest in Venezuela, declined to comment.
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The reorganization fits into President Donald Trump's push to inject foreign capital to revive Venezuela's oil sector and boost supply as the US works to refill strategic stockpiles drained by the war with Iran. It also underscores how access is being redefined. Under Nicolás Maduro, proximity to government insiders and PDVSA often opened doors. Under Trump, connections in Washington increasingly matter.
People familiar with the plan say several other projects are also being targeted. Among the assets under review are the Ayacucho 6 project, granted to West-Construcciones C.A., and the Bare field run by Cavallino Oil Company. A deal for Colombia's Gilinski family and GeoPark Ltd to assume operatorship at Bare is close. Both Ayacucho 6 and Bare were on a widely shared roster of productive participation contracts granted during the Maduro period that are now being scrutinized.
The shake-up has already produced concrete changes. In May, Venezuela's oil ministry canceled DP Delta Finance BV's minority holding in the Petrodelta joint venture, citing missed investment and production commitments. The government then moved to transfer those assets to California-based Pacific Coast Energy Co. And in August, Florida oil executive Harry Sargeant III came under pressure from the Trump administration to divest his minority stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, the second-largest private oil producer in Venezuela. Following a Treasury Department freeze on assets linked to his offshore holding company, he consented to a $300 million sale.
The through-line here is access. As Harvard's Steven Levitsky puts it, the US government is "highly personalistic right now," and Trump's longstanding drive to control other countries' oil is influencing the Venezuela approach. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
If contracts are pulled and operators shift, cash flows tied to specific blocks - from Boca, Guico and Guara to projects like Bare and Ayacucho 6 - could change hands. For anyone exposed to partners, suppliers or lenders with stakes in these fields, the winners and losers in this reshuffle may decide whose barrels - and revenues - show up next.
