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UK judge says Venezuela freeze should be lifted

Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:08am EDT

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LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - A UK judge said on Tuesday that a $12 billion freeze on Venezuelan assets awarded to U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) should be lifted.

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The freeze related to a spat over an oil field the U.S. oil major lost to President Hugo Chavez's nationalisation drive.

The world's largest non-government controlled oil company by market value convinced a UK court in January to freeze the assets so cash would be available if it won arbitration over the field.

The freeze hit the value of Venezuelan government bonds on debt markets and enraged Chavez who threatened to cut off oil supplies to the U.S., helping to push oil prices up to record highs above $100. (Reporting by Tom Bergin, Editing by Mark Potter)

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