News 20 Mar. 2017

ICSID Annulment Committee annuls Cerro Negro US$1.4 Billion Award

On March 9, 2017, the ad hoc committee considering Venezuela’s application to annul the portion of the ICSID tribunal’s 2014 award in the arbitration instituted by ExxonMobil subsidiaries against Venezuela relating to compensation for the 2007 nationalization of the Cerro Negro oil project granted the application, annulling the US$1.4 billion award. The decision is the largest annulment in ICSID history. The firm represented Venezuela in the proceeding. The Curtis team, led by Firm Chairman George Kahale, included Ben Preziosi, Gabriela Alvarez, Fuad Zarbiyev, Borzu Sabahi, Simon Batifort, Arianna Sanchez and Fernando Tupa.