U.S. oil producer ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is still awaiting payment from Venezuela on a $2 billion arbitration settlement reached last month with the country’s state-run PDVSA, CEO Ryan Lance said on Sept. 5.
In August, Conoco suspended legal attachments efforts that had cut Venezuela’s oil exports from several Caribbean facilities following a deal that allowed the country 90 days to make an initial $500 million payment.
“I’ll count the money when it shows up in the bank,” Lance said on Sept. 5 at a Barclays energy conference in New York, in response to a question on how the company plans to use the settlement.
Lance said he expects Venezuela will honor the agreement, noting the company still has another two arbitration decisions involving Venezuela ahead of it. But Conoco would resume its legal efforts if the payments were not forthcoming, he said.
The deal stems from the nationalization of Conoco assets dating back over a decade in Venezuela. An international court in April ruled in favor of Conoco and ordered PDVSA to pay the $2 billion. Conoco began seizing PDVSA’s Caribbean assets earlier this year to enforce its claim. Conoco’s seizures in Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and St. Eustatius had prevented PDVSA from using several terminals and export operations. Under terms of the agreement, Venezuela must pay $500 million by late November and the remaining $1.5 billion over the next four and a half years.
Recommended Reading
Occidental Reports ‘Great Progress’ on Net-zero Pathway, DAC
2024-02-21 - Most of Occidental Petroleum’s planned $600 million investment in emerging low-carbon ventures for 2024 will go to direct air capture facility STRATOS, CEO Vicki Hollub says.
1PointFive, AT&T Enter Carbon Removal Pact
2024-03-13 - 1PointFive said it is also participating in AT&T’s Connected Climate Initiative to collaborate on carbon removal solutions like direct air capture.
Energy Transition in Motion (Week of Jan. 12, 2024)
2024-01-12 - Here is a look at some of this week’s renewable energy news, including a 2.4-gigawatt wind turbine order win for GE Vernova.
SLB’s ‘Transition Technologies’ Bring In $1B+, Baker Hughes Sees 45% New Energy Orders Jump
2024-01-24 - The oil and gas sector’s deep understanding of complex subsurface rock is helping to advance carbon capture and storage and other technologies.
Carbon Terravault’s CCS Plans Progress with Release of Draft Well Permits
2024-01-08 - If required regulatory approvals are secured, Carbon TerraVault will have permission to drill California’s first wells for underground CO2 sequestration in a depleted oil and gas field.