Exxon Mobil: $908 million awarded in Venezuela dispute

CARACAS—An international arbitration body has awarded Exxon Mobil Corp nearly $908 million in a dispute with Venezuela over compensation for the nationalisation of its assets, the company said yesterday. Exxon Mobil sought arbitration after President Hugo Chavez's government nationalised an oil project in the country in 2007. The decision by the International Chamber of Commerce confirmed that state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA "does have a contractual liability to Exxon Mobil," company spokesman Patrick McGinn said in an email. He said the award is for $907,588,000. Venezuelan government officials did not respond to messages yesterday seeking comment.

"The dispute is not over Venezuela's power to expropriate assets, but rather the failure of PDVSA to comply with contractual provisions to compensate Exxon Mobil," McGinn said. The Irving, Texas-based oil company has not publicly released figures on how much it was seeking in compensation. McGinn said the company received the decision on Friday and was still reviewing its more than 400 pages. Exxon Mobil still has another arbitration case pending against Venezuela before the World Bank-affiliated International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID. More than a dozen other arbitration cases involving Venezuela are also pending as companies have sought billions of dollars in compensation in response to nationalizations by Chavez's leftist government.

AP