ConocoPhillips moves to enforce $8.5B Venezuela award

Law360 (October 21, 2021, 7:17 PM EDT) — ConocoPhillips moved to enforce an $8.5 billion arbitral award against Venezuela after an international committee decided late last month to lift a stay of enforcement and the cash-strapped country’s annulment proceedings were suspended.

In a motion filed Wednesday, ConocoPhillips urged a D.C. federal judge to grant default judgment against Venezuela in litigation seeking to enforce a massive arbitration award that was issued to three Dutch ConocoPhillips subsidiaries in early 2019 after Venezuela nationalized three of their oil projects. On Oct. 1, a federal court clerk declared Venezuela to be in default after the country chose to ignore the oil company’s suit.

ConocoPhillips filed the litigation just days after the award was issued and maintained in its motion that Venezuela has made no appearance in the case to date, adding that the deadline to do so passed in March of last year.

To read the full story on Law 360, click here.

Share