WILLEMSTAD – While no current public reports confirm that Huntington Ingalls or any U.S. entity is now preparing to seize Venezuelan oil stocks in Curaçao, there is historical precedent for U.S. companies taking legal action in the Dutch Caribbean to recover debts from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
In a case reported in 2024 by Caribbean news outlets and defence analysts, U.S. military-industrial contractor Huntington Ingalls pursued legal claims in the Dutch Caribbean courts seeking to confiscate Venezuelan oil stored at facilities in Curaçao and Bonaire as part of efforts to satisfy decades-old arbitration awards stemming from defence contracts. The legal filings sought to seize crude and refined products allegedly owed by Venezuela, with estimated stocks in the hundreds of thousands of barrels. However, a judge opted to temporarily pause the case so that parallel legal actions in Bonaire could be considered, and no seizure order was imposed at that stage.
Separately, large U.S. energy company ConocoPhillips successfully used the courts in the Dutch Caribbean to secure rulings allowing it to seize PDVSA assets — including stored oil products — as part of enforcement efforts on a $2 billion arbitration award related to expropriation of Conoco assets in Venezuela. In one such decision, a Curaçao court authorised Conoco to take control of petroleum stocks at the now-idle Isla refinery and Bullen Bay terminal in Curaçao to satisfy creditors, marking one of the most significant legal challenges to PDVSA’s overseas asset holdings.
These precedents show that legal mechanisms do exist under regional and international law to attach or seize Venezuelan oil stocks in Curaçao to resolve commercial disputes. Much of this activity stems from PDVSA’s accumulating debt and arbitration losses, which have given creditors grounds to pursue enforcement actions in jurisdictions where PDVSA once had a strong logistical footprint.
No Current Confirmation of Huntington Action
Despite these past cases, there is no verified recent reporting from reputable news sources that Huntington or any other U.S. military-industrial contractor has active orders to seize PDVSA oil that would be stored in Curaçao today. Industry databases and international media indicate PDVSA’s Caribbean storage and export operations have been severely disrupted by legal actions and sanctions over the years, but current asset control remains subject to ongoing negotiations and court rulings.
Curaçao’s Strategic Role Remains in Focus
Curaçao’s oil storage infrastructure — including large terminals at Bullen Bay and the formerly operational Isla refinery site — continues to be of strategic interest amid global oil market reconfiguration and Venezuela’s evolving diplomatic landscape. While historical asset seizures have affected Venezuelan operations in the region, any future moves would likely be subject to detailed legal proceedings in Curaçao courts before enforcement could occur.
Local authorities have previously managed complex litigation involving foreign creditors and PDVSA, often balancing commercial claims with broader energy market and local supply concerns.
In Summary
- Huntington Ingalls previously attempted to use legal claims to seize Venezuelan oil assets in Curaçao, but the case was paused by a judge.
- ConocoPhillips has successfully enforced court orders to seize PDVSA-owned stocks in Curaçao as part of debt collection efforts.
- There is currently no verified news report confirming an imminent Huntington plan to seize oil specifically stored for PDVSA in Curaçao.