Oil, a Caribbean coastline and prices you will not find elsewhere

Venezuela sits on the largest proven oil reserves in the world — ahead of Saudi Arabia. Add to that two and a half thousand kilometres of Caribbean coast, Andean peaks and the table mountains of the Guiana Highlands. This was the richest country in Latin America in the 1970s, and it is now climbing back from the bottom.

After the hyperinflation that peaked in 2018, the economy dollarised in practice: shops routinely take dollars and price in them. The economy has been growing again since 2021 and foreign companies are returning to the oil sector. Property and land prices are among the lowest on the continent.

What Venezuela offers

• The largest proven oil reserves in the world, plus substantial gas.
• An economy dollarised in practice, with no exchange-rate risk day to day.
• Property and land at a fraction of neighbouring countries’ prices.
• A Caribbean coastline and ports with direct access to the Panama Canal.

What to watch

Venezuela is the riskiest of our destinations and there is no point pretending otherwise. Parts of the country and of its companies are subject to US and European sanctions; before any transaction you need to check who those sanctions reach and whether they could touch your bank at home. The legal environment is unpredictable, enforcement is weak, and title to many properties is unclear.

We would not advise going in without thorough due diligence on the counterparty and on title, and without a sanctions review. That is exactly what we can do — as is helping you enter the market, if the review shows it makes sense.