May 30 (Reuters) - A Trinidad and Tobago court order has

granted ConocoPhillips ( COP ) the right to enforce a $1.33

billion claim against Venezuela for past expropriations, a

decision that could complicate proposed offshore gas ventures

between Trinidad and Venezuela.

The decision on Wednesday gave U.S. oil company Conoco

the right to seize any compensation to Venezuela from joint gas

projects with Trinidad. The countries and energy companies NGC,

Shell and BP are looking to develop major

offshore gas fields.

Since winning arbitration awards against Venezuela and its

state oil company PDVSA, Conoco has sought to enforce the ruling

in different courts, including in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

"The order gives to the claimant a green light to be

able to enforce the judgment in Trinidad if they can establish

there are assets held by the defendants or there is money which

is owed to the defendant by entities in Trinidad and Tobago,"

High Court Judge Frank Seepersad told Reuters in an phone

interview.

Conoco declined to comment. PDVSA, Shell, BP and NGC did

not immediately reply to requests for comment.

PDVSA has paid Conoco about $700 million through a

settlement agreement, but ceased payments in late 2019. Conoco

is the largest claimant in a Delaware case that will auction

shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum

to pay creditors seeking more than $20 billion in compensations.

Ryan Lance, Conoco's CEO, this month told Wall Street

analysts the company is involved in the Citgo court case "to get

the money that they owe us for the judgments that we have

against the Venezuelan government for the expropriation of our

assets."

This week, the U.S. Treasury Department granted a license to

BP and NGC to develop the Cocuina-Manakin gas fields in the

maritime border between the two countries. Another license for a

larger gas project, called Dragon, which lies in Venezuela's

waters, was issued by Washington last year.

None of the projects have declared financial viability

or started operations, but

negotiations between the two nations have

progressed to compensate PDVSA for pasts investment in the

fields.

Conoco, whose arbitration case against PDVSA before the

International Chamber of Commerce gave the company the right to

recoup up to $1.89 billion plus interest for the expropriation

of its oil assets in Venezuela, said in its request to

Trinidad's High Court that it would try to attach any

reimbursement paid to PDVSA.

"By this application, the claimants seek...recognition

of the award; judgment in the terms of the award set forth in

the draft order accompanying the application; and permission to

enforce the award," the document said.

The court order provides PDVSA seven days to challenge the

decision favoring Conoco, according to the court documents.