PDVSA will pay ConocoPhillips USD $ 2 billion: Venezuelan oil company PDVSA agreed to pay US oil company ConocoPhillips $ 2 billion to resolve a dispute that has prevented PDVSA from exporting oil from many of its facilities in the Caribbean.
In 2007, ConocoPhillips filed a lawsuit against Venezuela before a World Bank tribunal for the nationalization of two oil projects: the Hamaca and Petrozuata heavy oil projects. Subsequently, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) was called upon to resolve the dispute, and on April 25, 2018, the ICC tribunal awarded ConocoPhillips approximately $ 2 billion because PDVSA did not honor its contractual commitments.
After the ruling, ConocoPhillips moved to seize most of PDVSA’s Caribbean assets, including facilities on the islands of Curaçao, Bonaire and St. Eustatius. These facilities accounted for about a quarter of Venezuela’s oil exports last year.
The payment is the total amount granted to ConocoPhillips by an arbitration tribunal constituted under the rules of the ICC, plus interest throughout the payment period. PDVSA agreed to recognize the ICC ruling and make initial payments totaling approximately $ 500 million in a period of 90 days from the date of signature. The balance of the agreement will be paid quarterly for a period of 4.5 years.
The $ 2 billion represent approximately a quarter of the international reserves in Venezuela’s central bank, reports Bloomberg.
