Caracas, January 26, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The World Bank’s state-corporate arbitration tribunal has dismissed Venezuela’s challenge against a record US $8.5 billion arbitration award granted to ConocoPhillips.
On Friday, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) issued a 356-page ruling rejecting Caracas’ request to annul the award. Venezuela was also ordered to reimburse the company’s $6.46 million in legal fees and $1.35 million in other court costs.
Venezuela’s applications to annul the award are dismissed, the document read. The case does not allow for further appeals.
In 2019, the Rockefeller owned ConocoPhillips secured a favorable ruling and multi-billion compensation for the ignored privatization of its Venezuela-based assets.
The Nicolás Maduro government’s appeal argued that the tribunal was improperly constituted, exceeded its powers and misapplied the compensation mechanism.
It likewise objected to the exclusion of evidence. The three-person tribunal board rejected the claims and stated that the excluded evidence would not have affected its assessment of damages.
The US oil giant welcomed the latest ruling as upholding the principle that governments cannot unlawfully expropriate private investments without paying compensation.
In 2007, the Hugo Chávez government took control of the offshore oil field Corocoro and heavy crude upgraders Hamaca and Petrozuata. The Texas-headquartered corporation pursued international arbitration to challenge the loss of its assets.
Though Venezuela abandoned the ICSID convention in 2012, it remained liable for priorly launched cases. The tribunal reached a verdict in 2019 following years of litigation.
ConocoPhillips was one of the corporations that did not accept Venezuela’s reformed oil legislation which imposed increased state control over the industry.
The original $8.7 billion award was later lowered to $8.5 billion and has a 5.5 percent yearly interest rate which has seen the total debt balloon past $11 billion.
ConocoPhillips likewise secured a separate $2 billion award from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in 2018 as compensation for its nationalized projects and investments.
The Maduro government began paying the debt in installments before US sanctions barred the country from performing international financial transactions.
ConocoPhillips ICC award is second on a list of claims that the auction will satisfy on a first come, first served basis. It managed to tag its ICSID award onto the Delaware proceedings in December 2023 following a favorable alter ego ruling.
Guaidó and associates drew further accusations of conflicts of interest and malpractice, including an alleged off-court settlement concerning the ICC award brought up during the Delaware process.
The agreement was denied and struck from court documents with no explanation.
In May 2024, ConocoPhillips received a favorable legal ruling in Trinidad and Tobago that could see the enterprise attempt to seize Venezuelan proceeds from joint natural gas projects.
Venezuela Analysis / ABC Flash Point News 2025.
What a very corrupted World Bank can do to a country, where complete foreign assets are confiscated by a bunch of criminal entities feeding on lute and robbery.