Venezuela Congress urges World Bank court pullout
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's Congress wants to pull out of an international body arbitrating a multibillion-dollar fight with Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), part of a compensation battle that threatens already thorny ties with Washington.
In a largely symbolic motion published on Thursday, Congress called on President Hugo Chavez to withdraw from the World Bank's International Center for Settlement on Investment Disputes over a battle with Exxon on payment for an oil project nationalized last year.
Venezuela Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez criticizes previous governments for allowing international arbitration in disputes with foreign oil companies.
But far from threatening to pull out of the body, he has instead vowed to win the case, which could last several years.
The congressional motion also backed a conditional threat Chavez made last week to stop exporting oil to the United States and urged the government to prosecute former officials who signed "harmful" contracts with foreign oil companies.
While there is little sign Chavez will take up Congress' move, it helps amplify Venezuela's political noise against Exxon and Washington, which have been demonized by state media in the dispute as working to attack oil-producing nations.
Chavez, a foe of the United States, says Exxon Mobil's court victories which resulted in $12 billion in Venezuelan assets being temporarily frozen over the seizure are part of an "economic war" to unseat him directed by the White House.
On Wednesday, Washington backed Exxon Mobil's tough legal strategy "to get a just and fair compensation package," but denied it was trying to oust Chavez.
Exxon Mobil was pushed out of Venezuela along with ConocoPhillips (COP.N) last year during a nationalization drive by Chavez, who wants to turn Venezuela into a socialist society. Conoco is still in talks over compensation.
Analysts say Exxon's legal offensive is a negotiating tactic to set a price tag for the nationalized Cerro Negro project at $12 billion. Venezuela says the project is worth less than $6 billion.
Chavez has slowed his reform drive this year after a stinging defeat in a referendum to increase his powers and allow him to run for reelection.
Last year, Chavez vowed to pull out of the International Monetary Fund but backed down when he realized it would have allowed private bond holders to demand immediate payment for their debt.
Economists say pulling out of the World Bank body could also be costly for Venezuela because it would cause a chill on investment and likely put the country in violation of contracts with foreign companies.
Venezuelan ally Bolivia, which has also nationalized energy projects, last year called for several left-wing countries in Latin America to pull out of the body of the Washington-based World Bank.
(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel, editing by Matthew Lewis)
