Gulf oil nations can help replace Venezuela oil: U.S.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Major oil producers in the Middle East have assured the United States they could compensate for a supply disruption if Venezuela slows exports in its dispute with Exxon Mobil Corp, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

"Other major oil producers, including those in the Persian Gulf, have assured us that they can compensate for significant disruptions of any nature," a State Department official told Reuters. He declined to be more specific.

OPEC-member Venezuela halted crude sales to Exxon Mobil after the top U.S. oil company launched litigation freezing $12 billion in Venezuelan assets as part of an effort to secure compensation for a nationalized oil project.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, a foe of the United States, says Exxon's legal attack is part of an "economic war" to unseat him directed by the Bush administration, and Venezuela's oil minister said on Tuesday fellow OPEC members had expressed solidarity with the South American nation.

The United States has denied it is trying to oust Chavez and has distanced itself from the legal case.

"This is a commercial matter, not a government-to-government dispute," the official said. "We hope the parties can resolve their differences either through arbitration or a mutually agreed settlement."

(Reporting by Chris Baltimore; Editing by David Gregorio)