ConocoPhillips prevails in $8.7 billion Venezuelan seizure case

Venezuela must pay an $8.7 billion claim to ConocoPhillips stemming from asset seizures during the reign of the late Hugo Chavez after an international court rebuffed the South American nation’s final appeal.

The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes upheld a 2019 ruling in favor of the US oil explorer’s demand for compensation for seizures more than a decade ago, ConocoPhillips announced Thursday.

The decision closes off any remaining legal routes for Venezuela to avoid liability. In its initial ruling, the court characterized the seizures as unlawful confiscation and ordered that ConocoPhillips must be compensated.