Venezuela state oil co. to face Exxon |
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Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:16
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela is prepared to face Exxon Mobil Corp. in international arbitration to defend its nationalization of key oil projects, the country's energy minister said.'We are ready to face it,' Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez told the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal in an interview published Friday, saying the government was not surprised the Irving, Texas-based oil company filed a request for arbitration.Exxon Mobil said Wednesday it filed a request for arbitration in the dispute over the nationalization of the Cerro Negro heavy oil project -- one of four heavy oil projects in which President Hugo Chavez's government assumed majority control in May.Exxon said it filed its arbitration request last week with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, a Washington-based arbitration forum closely linked with the World Bank.The oil fields and heavy crude upgrading plants in the Orinoco River basin were run for more than a decade under contract by six major international oil companies.Exxon Mobil and Houston-based ConocoPhillips balked at the tougher terms, while Chevron Corp., Britain's BP PLC, France's Total SA and Norway's Statoil ASA agreed to stay on as minority partners in new joint ventures controlled by state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.ConocoPhillips is still in negotiations on compensatory terms for its multibillion-dollar investment.'What Exxon was asking for in the negotiations didn't make sense. We were expecting this could reach arbitration,' Ramirez, who is also PDVSA's president, told El Universal.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Exxon seeks arbitration on Venezuela oil project 