Brief
Mercuria and Glencore are discussing an agreement to operate Venalum, Bloomberg reported, following years of declining production at the Venezuelan company. The prospective arrangement has not yet been defined, and no terms or timeline were disclosed. If completed, it would give two major global commodity operators a prominent role in Venezuela’s weakened industrial sector, making the negotiations a notable test of renewed commercial engagement with the country’s productive assets.
A completed deal would mark a highly visible entry by major commodity firms into Venezuelan industry and test whether outside operators can revive assets with prolonged production declines. The still-unknown legal and commercial structure is central to assessing capital exposure, operational control and whether the model could be replicated.
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Trade · El Nacional - Economía
Sep 12, 2026
Watch for a signed agreement and disclosure of its operating structure, including which company would control day-to-day management. Subsequent evidence that Venalum’s production decline is stabilizing would provide the first operational validation.