Exxon Mobil Corp. was awarded a $1.6 billion settlement by an international arbitration panel for assets seized by Venezuela’s government in 2007, less than the crude producer had sought.
The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, awarded the sum to Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil in compensation for the expropriation of investments in the Cerro Negro Project and other losses, according to a ruling on the center’s website today.
Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil company by market value, had originally sought as much as $14.7 billion of compensation for assets that were nationalized after it refused to accept terms of a partnership with state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA. The ruling comes after the Washington-based tribunal declared the proceeding closed on July 28.
“Our goal with the arbitration was to seek compensation for the fair market value of assets that were expropriated,” Exxon Mobil said in an e-mailed statement. “ExxonMobil’s affiliate engaged in extensive discussions with PDVSA and government officials but was unable to reach agreement on fair compensation.”
Shares of Exxon declined 2.4% to $92.37 at 1:58 p.m. in New York, extending an 8.7% drop this year.
Exxon Mobil’s assets in Venezuela, which included 425 MMbbl of proved reserves net to the company, had a remaining net book value of $750 million, according to the company’s filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro faces investor concern that a shortage of foreign currency could push the country closer to defaulting on its international debt. The government has said it’s seeking to sell Citgo Petroleum Corp., a U.S. unit of PDVSA, for at least $10 billion.
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