Following the ouster of Maduro, there’s a whole lot of political debris reining down in Venezuela. But along with the billions required to restore the country’s infrastructure and increase production, Venezuela also has become a golden fleece for oil wildcatters willing to risk big commitments for big rewards in an unstable environment.

Reese Energy Consulting today is following the latest from the private wildcatters who met with the president last week and are saddled up and ready to giddyup.

Among Texas wildcats, there’s no one like the fearless Rod Lewis who continues to bet big beyond the border. His San Antonio-based Lewis Energy Group was one of South Texas’ largest gas producers, coined by Forbes in 2008 as the “only gringo allowed to drill in Mexico”. Lewis moved ahead to build natural gas operations off the coast of Colombia and signed a PDVSA deal to rehab five Venezuela oilfields in decline.

Legendary wildcatter Bill Armstrong, who made Alaska’s largest oil discovery in 50 years, is all in to make Venezuela the next conquest on his bucket list. Armstrong controls 3 million acres adjacent to Venezuela. Jeff Hildebrand, founder and chairman of Hilcorp Energy, made no mistake in the meeting he was fully committed to rebuild Venezuela’s infrastructure.