This Thursday, a decision of the Court of the International Trade Court (CCI) rejected the main claims of ConocoPhillips in the case initiated by this company and its subsidiaries against PDVSA and its subsidiaries for the oil nationalization carried out in 2007. With this decision, the Court adjusts to less than 10% of the claim presented by ConocoPhillips.
This action began in 2007, when the oil transnational sued PDVSA before the ICC for almost USD 30,000 million, based on the alleged violation of the regulations on investment protection of the Bilateral Investment Treaty signed between Venezuela and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, expectations that had to adjust up to USD 20,000 million in 2013, due to the strong arguments presented by the Venezuelan defense and for which the claims of ConocoPhillips regarding the tax issue were discarded.
The final Award issued today represents a harsh lesson for the transnational ConocoPhillips, because the amount is even less than that offered legitimately by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela more than 10 years ago to settle a fair agreement under the terms of the Organic Law of Hydrocarbons. With this case, the legitimate and sovereign right of the Venezuelan State to take these restitutive measures of the control of Venezuelans over the riches of their subsoil has been recognized. Likewise, Venezuela demonstrated that it negotiated in good faith, and successfully, with all the companies participating in the extra-heavy crude projects of the Orinoco Oil Strip to adjust them to the new regulatory framework for joint ventures. A proposal rejected by ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, who refused to negotiate in good faith with the Bolivarian Government and have obtained very similar unsuccessful results in their lawsuits against the country.
The Attorney General’s Office, jointly with PDVSA, is analyzing in depth the Award, of 400 pages, to define the strategy of the next actions, within the framework of the resources available for its challenge and the possible attempts of ConocoPhillips for its execution.
This decision ratifies the correctness of the position assumed by the Venezuelan State in the vindication of the rights of Venezuelans and Venezuelans over their oil, and the ability of their organization to defend those rights in any forum.
