ConocoPhillips Gulf of Paria B.V. v. Corporación Venezolana de Petróleo, S.A., Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.

Case summary

At a glance

Parties: ConocoPhillips Gulf of Paria B.V. v. Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo, S.A. and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.
Case no.: ICC Case No. 22527/ASM/JPA; D. Del. Case No. 1:22-mc-00264-LPS
Court: United States District Court for the District of Delaware
Judge: Leonard P. Stark
Sector: Oil and gas
Outcome: Motion for a writ of fieri facias granted only to the extent of similar relief in related cases. The writ may not issue until OFAC authorises it or lifts the sanctions blocking the PDVH shares.

The dispute

ConocoPhillips Gulf of Paria B.V. sought to enforce, in Delaware, a judgment against Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo, S.A. and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). The case record links it to ICC Case No. 22527/ASM/JPA. The only published document is the court's order of 24 October 2022 on ConocoPhillips' motion for a writ of fieri facias. The writ concerned the shares of PDVH, which are blocked property under U.S. sanctions. The order does not describe the underlying arbitration, the contract or the amounts at stake.

Key holdings

The court granted the motion for an order authorising a writ of fieri facias, but only to the extent that it had granted similar relief to Phillips Petroleum Company Venezuela Limited, ConocoPhillips Petrozuata B.V. and Red Tree Investments, LLC in Misc. No. 19-342 and Misc. Nos. 22-68 & 22-69. The grant is subject to PDVSA's rights of appeal and the preservation of its objections. p. 1
The Clerk may sign and seal the writ only once the court receives evidence that the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has either authorised the issuance and service of a writ of attachment or removed the sanctions that block the PDVH shares. pp. 1–2
The Clerk may not issue or serve the writ of attachment until further order of the court. p. 2