Venezuela Sovereign
against Exxon
Venezuela's strategy
against Exxon Mobil on
the Cerro Negro project
reflects a defense of
its sovereignty, based
on laws embracing state
control of domestic
natural resources like
royalty payments and
income taxes.
The experts agree that
the above and pressure
from Exxon, which claims
discrimination in
changing to joint
venture status,
questions the official
decision to manage a key
resource like fuel.
Former Judge Hildegard
Rondon called the oil
claim an act of
sovereignty and reminded
that all investors,
including Chevron (US),
French Total and British
Petroleum, were treated
alike and joined the
change, while others
arranged compensations.
By contrast, Exxon Mobil
has been trying to
freeze $12 billion from
state-run Petroleos de
Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA)
whose holdings rounded
$107 billion at the end
of the past fiscal year. |
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