AFP, Washington :
Crisis-ridden Venezuela received a bit of good news Monday when the US Supreme Court ruled against an American oil firm whose equipment was expropriated under late president Hugo Chavez.
In a unanimous decision, the court rejected the basis of a suit against Venezuela brought by Oklahoma-based Helmerich & Payne International Drilling, which asserted that the 2010 seizure of 11 of its oil rigs was illegal.
At the time, the “Bolivarian revolution” was in full swing under Chavez, a former army paratrooper famous for railing against “Yankee imperialism” while promising to lead Venezuela into “the socialism of the 21st century.”
From agribusiness to energy to the nation’s banks, the Chavez regime nationalized whole sectors of the economy, forcing multinationals to pull back.
Helmerich, a relatively small player in the oil-drilling sector compared to giants like Schlumberger and Halliburton, had installed its own derricks and other equipment in the South American country.
So when Chavez took steps in June 2010 to prevent the company from removing its equipment, Helmerich sued.
The question before the Supreme Court was under what precise conditions one can sue a sovereign state-in this case Venezuela-in an American court.
Sovereign states have long been shielded from being sued in US courts, with only limited exceptions.
Crisis-ridden Venezuela received a bit of good news Monday when the US Supreme Court ruled against an American oil firm whose equipment was expropriated under late president Hugo Chavez.
In a unanimous decision, the court rejected the basis of a suit against Venezuela brought by Oklahoma-based Helmerich & Payne International Drilling, which asserted that the 2010 seizure of 11 of its oil rigs was illegal.
At the time, the “Bolivarian revolution” was in full swing under Chavez, a former army paratrooper famous for railing against “Yankee imperialism” while promising to lead Venezuela into “the socialism of the 21st century.”
From agribusiness to energy to the nation’s banks, the Chavez regime nationalized whole sectors of the economy, forcing multinationals to pull back.
Helmerich, a relatively small player in the oil-drilling sector compared to giants like Schlumberger and Halliburton, had installed its own derricks and other equipment in the South American country.
So when Chavez took steps in June 2010 to prevent the company from removing its equipment, Helmerich sued.
The question before the Supreme Court was under what precise conditions one can sue a sovereign state-in this case Venezuela-in an American court.
Sovereign states have long been shielded from being sued in US courts, with only limited exceptions.
