ConocoPhillips Wants Venezuelan Payback Before Drilling for Oil

ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance’s priority in Venezuela is recouping billions his company is owed almost two decades after its oil projects were nationalized, rather than drilling new wells.

Despite roughly $10 billion in favorable judgments from international arbitrators holding Venezuela liable for the seizures, the Houston oil giant’s efforts to recover all it’s owed have been frustrated. Sorting that out takes precedence over making new investments in the Latin American nation, Lance signaled, despite US President Donald Trump’s call for US drillers to help revive the Venezuelan oil sector.

“That’s a significant amount of money, we’ve ...