Thrusday 07

Court freezes USD 12 billion in Pdvsa assets in Exxon row
Exxon Mobil Corp has moved to freeze up to USD 12 billion in Pdvsa assets around the world as the US company fights for payment in return for the state's takeover of a huge oil project last year, reported Reuters.

The company said it has received a British court order that prohibits Venezuela state oil firm Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) from selling any of its worldwide assets up to a value of USD 12 billion.

It also said on Thursday it received court orders freezing up to USD 12 billion of Pdvsa assets in the Netherlands and another USD 12 billion in the Netherlands Antilles.

Lastly, Exxon won a court order from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in December freezing more than USD 300 million belonging to Pdvsa, as Exxon argued it would have little chance to recoup its investment from the Venezuelan state-run oil company should it win its arbitration.

Friday 08

Pdvsa denies freezing of assets in connection with Exxon Mobil's complaint
After US oil major Exxon Mobil reportedly won court orders in New York and London to freeze the Venezuelan oil firm Pdvsa's both accounts in the United States and USD 12 billion-worth assets in the United Kingdom, Pdvsa CEO Rafael Ramírez Friday denied any move against Pdvsa's assets or accounts in connection with a complaint Exxon Mobil filed with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The official branded such claims as "absolutely false." "We have not been informed of any ruling by any court that may be final regarding any of our assets. A US court issued a precautionary ruling and we have the right to reply. In short, this is a temporary measure, while we file our allegations." Ramírez showed confidence that the precautionary measure would be lifted.

He added Pdvsa this week was filing two allegations and denied reports that Venezuela's oil shipments or operations were undermined.

The official clarified that the value of Pdvsa's assets in London or the Netherlands is not even near the sums reported as frozen.

Venezuela's bonds post new losses following freeze of Pdvsa's assets
Venezuelan debt bonds Friday extended losses in Europe trading, following reports that US and British courts moved to freeze Venezuelan oil giant Pdvsa's assets at a value of USD 12 billion, Reuters said.

Venezuela's benchmark global bond due 2027 plunged to unprecedented low levels in five and a half months.

Venezuela's part in the Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus (EMBI+) -measuring risk in emerging markets- climbed 26 points to 547 base points above the comparable yields of the US Treasury Bonds.

Congress rejects foreign courts' action against Pdvsa
Deputy Ángel Rodríguez, chair of the Energy and Mines Committee, Venezuelan National Assembly, rebutted as illegal the rulings by US and British courts to freeze the assets of Venezuelan oil giant Pdvsa in the US, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, as part of a complaint filed by US oil major Exxon Mobil after its assets in heavy-crude oil Orinoco belt were seized by the Venezuelan government last May.

The nationalization process, under which foreign firms were forced to enter into joint ventures where the Venezuelan State holds a majority stake, "comes as part of an exercise of full oil sovereignty in Venezuelan territory. Any dispute or lawsuit should be addressed under the jurisdiction of domestic courts only. Therefore, the National Assembly forcefully rejects the pretensions of the oil multinational to bias the international arbitration -which is a colonialist practice that prevailed in the oil opening agreements initialed in the 90's and which runs counter to the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."

In Rodríguez's view, the court orders are intended to have an influence on Venezuela's allocations of oil areas, as the Bolivarian government has set principles to diversify partners in hydrocarbons operations and privilege policies favoring Latin American and Caribbean union.

US says it did not push Exxon Mobil into legal battle with Venezuela
The US government did not compel oil firm Exxon Mobil Corp to engage in a legal fight with Venezuela seeking compensation for the takeover of its assets under Venezuela's nationalization drive, Friday said a spokesman of the US State Department.

Spokesman Tom Casey said he had no information on whether Exxon had advised any US official before resorting to international arbitration.

"This is a very large administration," Casey said, adding, "Did the US administration pushed Exxon into doing this? The answer is no. They are protecting their corporate interests, in accordance with their needs," Reuters quoted.

"The US administration's vision is that neither Exxon nor any other US firm, and no other corporation in the world, should see their assets expropriated without a fair appropriate compensation, according to the international standards," said Casey.

Venezuela to compensate Total with oil
The Venezuelan government is compensating French Total with USD 834 million in crude oil after it cut the French firm's stake in operational agreement Sincor to the benefit of Venezuelan oil holding Pdvsa, a source who spoke under condition of anonymity told AFP.

"Total will be indemnified with USD 834 million in oil," the source explained.

Under an agreement they initialed with the Venezuelan government last June, four oil majors, namely Total, Norwegian Statoil, US Chevron and British BP- agreed to let Pdvsa become the majority stakeholder and take control of a number of operations at the Orinoco oil belt.

Sincor was a partnership comprising Pdvsa, Total and Statoil to process heavy-crude oil in Orinoco strip. Total's stake in Sincor was cut from 47 percent to 30.3 percent, and Statoil's share was reduced from 15 percent to 9.67 percent. Meanwhile, Pdvsa's stake went up from 38 percent to 60 percent.