by Marianna Párraga

The Republic of Venezuela has a total of four proceedings pending at the Centre for the Solution of Controversies Related to Investments (CIADI), an entity attached to the World Bank.

The last dispute, admitted on February 6, pertains to ENI, an Italian Petroleum Company, due to an expropriation of the Dación operating agreement which was not converted into a mixed corporation with the Government, as it is set forth in the Organic Law for Hydrocarbons since 2001.

Even though the Court to process this case has not been appointed yet, according to Reuters, the company has pointed out that it is seeking an indemnity for $1 billion, without including the acknowledgment for losses incurred by the company since April 2006. It is expected that the Court shall commence to hear the case on April.

Other three cases pertain to Vannessa Ventures, a mining project related to gold and copper extraction, filed on October 2004; I&I Beheer due to debt instruments, filed on April 2005, and Vestey Group, the owner of El Charcote Ranch, which was filed on March 2006, which is also waiting for the appointment of a Court, after a request by the parties to suspend the proceeding.

In addition, the file for finished cases against Venezuela includes a request for arbitration by Fedax, related to debt instruments, finished in 1998, as well as a lawsuit commenced in 2000 by Grad Associates, related to an agreement for the construction and modernization of jails in the country.

The last of these cases with a decision already made, was filed by Autopista Concesionada de Venezuela, due to a concession for the administration of the Caracas-La Guaira highway, including the construction of a new viaduct. The dispute was filed before the CIADI on June 2000, and a judgment was issued on September 2003 in favour of the plaintiff.

In addition to the Dación oil field, the other field on which no agreement with PDVSA was attained last year, to become a mixed corporation, was the Jusepín oil field. However, the former operator of this area, French oil corporation Total, has progressed in its negotiations, and it is expected that in the next months it may receive compensation.