Energy Partner Sudan I. Maccio spoke with Law.com International to share his thoughts on international companies exploring prospects for business in Venezuela. Maccio echoed a broader theme among advisers in the article: significant opportunity tempered by regulatory, political and operational risk.
Read an excerpt below.
Sudan Maccio, a Houston-based partner at Haynes and Boone, plans to be on one of those direct flights in the coming weeks. That would mark his first visit to his native Venezuela since 2009.
“The deep and sudden political change in Venezuela creates a market opportunity that is too big to ignore,” said Maccio, who spent most of his career in-house, including at PDVSA, before joining Haynes and Boone in April.
“I think there is a boom in the making. Is it free of risk? Nothing in life is free of risk. Are the conditions perfect right now? Absolutely not.”
“However, oil and gas projects don’t happen overnight with a magic wand. It takes a lot of planning, a lot of analysis,” added Maccio, who compared the number of companies making pilgrimages to Caracas to customers lining up in a waiting room.
Haynes and Boone regularly represents large energy companies on complex transactions. Recent global work includes advising ConocoPhillips on a $1.3 billion upstream asset sale, Ecopetrol on a $3.6 billion Midland Basin transaction, and Diversified Energy in a $2 billion asset-backed financing partnership with Carlyle.
Read the full Law.com International article here.
