VENEZUELA Settlement Denies Exxon Mobil's Excessive Claim
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Settlement-Denies-Exxon-Mobils-Excessive-Claim-20141009-0063.html
Venezuela comes out on top in long-standing dispute over nationalization of energy resources.
The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has ruled unanimously in favor of Venezuela. It stated on Thursday that the money owed to the transnational oil company Exxon Mobil for the nationalization of its assets in 2007 — in the Orinoco oil belt — is USD$1.6 billion, a far cry from the USD$12 billion Exxon Mobil had originally claimed it was owed.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez, who previously served as Energy Minister, greeted the news from the ICSID by stating, “A long process has concluded, where our country, our republic, has defended the sovereign management of our resources, we have defended the decision to nationalize the [Orinoco oil] belt in a way that will remembered in history.”
In 1997, during a period where oil exploration in Venezuela was opened up to foreign investment, Mobil signed a deal with the state-owned oil company PDVSA. The terms of the deal were unfavorable to the state and relinquished the sovereign control of energy resources in the country. With the arrival of Chavez to the presidency in Venezuela, the need to reassert control over natural resources became a priority. In 2007 Chavez decreed the nationalization of the oil sector in order to facilitate the social redistribution of income generated by the oil sector to the people. In effect PDVSA would control these cooperative ventures by owning at very least 60 percent of the shares.
According to a statement released by the Venezuelan government, throughout this process Exxon Mobil consistently tried to undermine Venezuelan sovereignty. When the nationalization was announced, all oil companies involved accepted the terms, except for Exxon Mobil and Conoco Phillips. The oil giant then tried to sue the government in various arbitration venues. The statement by the government concluded by saying “Once more the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, its government, institutions, and workers come out ahead and we have succeeded in defeating the aggression of these powerful transnational interests and their national agents in this country who shamelessly back them. We reiterate that Venezuela must be respected, we are committed to the defense of our independence and sovereignty in any scenario.”
VIVA CHAVEZ ETERNO!
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