SAO PAULO: Brazilian billionaire brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista are making a debut in the oil and gas industry through the family company Grupo J&F’s acquisition of Fluxus, which has agreed to take over production assets in Argentina.
Fluxus co-founder Ricardo Savini will hold the role of chief executive officer at the unit, with the other founders, Jorge Lorenzon and Vitor Abreu, also remaining in management, Grupo J&F said in an emailed statement.
The Batistas control JBS SA, the world’s largest meat supplier.
The family has been making moves to expand beyond the agriculture space and earlier this year it made a 10 billion reais (US$2.1bil) offer for a stake in Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem SA.
The energy deal comes as Fluxus has signed contracts for the first purchase of the company’s operational assets, in Argentina.
Fluxus has entered into an agreement with Pluspetrol to acquire all of block one, block two and Block Centro of the Centenario field, located in the province of Neuquen, and 33% of the Ramos field, in the province of Salta, both operated by Pluspetrol. The closing of the transaction with Pluspetrol is expected to take place in 2024, Grupo J&F said.
Savini is the former chief executive officer of 3R Petroleum Oleo e Gas SA and has also worked at Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras.
While this is the first step for the Batista family into oil, it likely won’t be the only one. According to Grupo J&F’s statement, Fluxus is already studying other investments in Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela, among other countries in Latin America. — Bloomberg
