Ecuador pays Oxy $100 mln over tax dispute -daily

Tue Apr 8, 2008 3:19pm EDT
 
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QUITO, April 8 (Reuters) - Ecuador paid $100 million to U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) as compensation for a long-running tax dispute, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The compensation could end a dispute over the exclusion of Occidental from a government tax revision in 1999, according to Guayaquil's daily El Expreso. The company complained it was illegally excluded from the revision.

A British court rejected an appeal by the Ecuadorean government last year over a ruling by an international tribunal in favor of Occidental.

Ecuador terminated its contract with Occidental in 2006 over charges the company transferred part of an oil block without government authorization.

Occidental has said the tax dispute led to the government's decision to revoke its contract and take over its assets, and filed an international arbitration against the country.

(Reporting by Carlos Andrade; Editing by David Gregorio)

 
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