ConocoPhillips stands out in Venezuela’s vast universe of jilted creditors and claimants as a potential future commercial partner for state-owned PDV Holding, a distinction that is driving aggressive international enforcement actions and quiet overtures for Caracas to resume payments of the company’s arbitration debt, Argus reports on website.
The U.S. independent’s USD10 billion outstanding claims against Venezuela are the most significant among several now in flux behind the scenes as the Venezuelan government and US-backed opposition prepare to resume fragile political negotiations in Mexico this weekend.
ConocoPhillips is Venezuela’s largest individual creditor, tied to two main international arbitration awards stemming from the 2007 seizure of its PetroZuata and Hamaca heavy crude joint venture interests and its participation in the offshore Corocoro field: $2bn from the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce and $8.5bn from the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Icsid).
In a landmark 2018 agreement, PdV agreed to honor the ICC award with quarterly payments in cash or in kind. PdV paid around $754mn but defaulted in the fourth quarter 2019, blaming US sanctions that blocked access to its funds in Portugal’s Novobanco, according to sources close to the parties.