ConocoPhillips’ (COP) wholly owned subsidiary, Burlington Resources Inc., received an arbitration award of $380 million from an international arbitration tribunal, constituted under the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), for Ecuador’s unlawful expropriation of Burlington’s significant investment in breach of the U.S.-Ecuador bilateral investment treaty.
“The Tribunal’s decision on damages sends a clear message that governments cannot expropriate investments without fair compensation,” said Janet Carrig, senior vice president, Legal and General Counsel. “ConocoPhillips sought to protect its interests to the fullest degree and the Tribunal acknowledged our legal rights and the unlawful nature of Ecuador’s actions.”
The decision is subject to potential annulment proceedings, but the company believes any application seeking to annul the award would be meritless and ConocoPhillips would strongly defend against it. The timing and manner of collection remain to be determined.
The Tribunal also issued a separate decision finding that Ecuador was entitled to $42 million for limited environmental and infrastructure impacts associated with the operations of the Consortium (comprising Burlington and Perenco). The Tribunal noted that “…while Ecuador also prevailed on part of its counterclaims, the amount awarded to Ecuador is an extremely small percentage of the amount claimed.”
