ConocoPhillips secured approval from a Trinidad court on Friday to seize payments from the Caribbean nation to Venezuela’s state oil company for a planned offshore gas initiative between the two countries. 

For several years, ConocoPhillips has been pursuing compensation from Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) following the expropriation of its assets. Although PDVSA had previously settled with Conoco for approximately $700 million, it halted payments in late 2019. 

Since then, ConocoPhillips has sought to enforce arbitration decisions against both Venezuela and PDVSA, including a claim of $1.33 billion currently pending in Trinidad’s high court. 

Judge Frank Seepersad indicated that the appointment of a receiver was necessary due to concerns that PDVSA might transfer assets out of Trinidad to evade payment obligations to ConocoPhillips, referencing PDVSA’s earlier move of its European headquarters to Moscow. 

Conoco’s legal representatives informed the court that they had pinpointed specific PDVSA assets for seizure. Judge Seepersad clarified that the order targets PDVSA and its subsidiaries, not the Venezuelan state, which is not involved in ConocoPhillips’ legal actions. 

ConocoPhillips opted not to comment on the matter. PDVSA was unavailable for immediate comment, and representatives from Trinidad’s state-owned National Gas Company, a participant in the Trinidad-Venezuela gas project, could not be reached. 

The receiver appointed by the court will oversee any compensation owed to PDVSA for relinquishing its rights to the joint Dragon Gas Field project, as well as any associated infrastructure, according to court documents. 

PDVSA has seven days from the receipt of the Trinidad court’s ruling to seek to overturn the decision.