Summary

This case stems from the Venezuelan government's 2010 seizure of drilling rigs and other assets owned by the Venezuelan subsidiary of the Oklahoma based oil drilling company Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Company ("H&P-IDC"). H&P-IDC and the subsidiary, Helmerich & Payne de Venezuela, C.A. ("H&P-V"), filed suit in 2011 against the Republic of Venezuela and two state-owned companies: Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., and its subsidiary PDVSA Petróleo, S.A. (collectively, "PDVSA"). Both H&P-IDC and H&P-V sought compensation for the alleged taking. They premised subject matter jurisdiction on the expropriation exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act ("FSIA"), which applies when "rights in [certain] property [are] taken in violation of international law." ...