US oil firm ConocoPhillips secured an order from a Trinidad and Tobago court, giving it the right to enforce a US$1.33-billion claim against Venezuela for past expropriations, according to reports on various media.

The reports say the decision could complicate proposed offshore gas ventures between Trinidad and Venezuela.

The decision which was handed down on Wednesday gave Conoco the right to seize any compensation to Venezuela from joint gas projects with Trinidad. The countries and energy companies NGC, Shell, and BP are looking to develop major offshore gas fields.

Since winning arbitration awards against Venezuela and its State oil company PDVSA, Conoco has sought to enforce the ruling in different courts, including in the US and the Caribbean.

“The order gives to the claimant a green light to be able to enforce the judgment in Trinidad if they can establish there are assets held by the defendants or there is money which is owed to the defendant by entities in Trinidad and Tobago,” High Court Judge Frank Seepersad was quoted as saying in a Reuters report on the decision.

Reuters said Conoco declined to comment and that PDVSA, Shell, BP, and NGC did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

PDVSA has paid Conoco about US$700 million through a settlement agreement but ceased payments in late 2019. Conoco is the largest claimant in a Delaware case that will auction shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum to pay creditors seeking more than US$20 billion in compensations.

Reuters also reported that Ryan Lance, Conoco’s CEO, this month told Wall Street analysts the company is involved in the Citgo court case “to get the money that they owe us for the judgments that we have against the Venezuelan Government for the expropriation of our assets”.

It also pointed out that earlier this week, the US Treasury Department granted a licence to BP and NGC to develop the Cocuina-Manakin gas fields in the maritime border between the two countries. Another license for a larger gas project, called Dragon, which lies in Venezuela’s waters, was issued by Washington last year.

None of the projects have declared financial viability or started operations, but negotiations between the two nations have progressed to compensate PDVSA for past investment in the fields.

Conoco, whose arbitration case against PDVSA before the International Chamber of Commerce gave the company the right to recoup up to $1.89 billion plus interest for the expropriation of its oil assets in Venezuela, said in its request to Trinidad’s High Court that it would try to attach any reimbursement paid to PDVSA.

“By this application, the claimants seek…recognition of the award; judgment in the terms of the award set forth in the draft order accompanying the application; and permission to enforce the award,” the document said.

The court order provides PDVSA seven days to challenge the decision favouring Conoco, according to the court documents.