Oil firms watchful as Exxon fights nationalization

By Matthew Robinson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil majors under pressure from a wave of resource nationalization worldwide are likely to remain on the sidelines of Exxon Mobil Corp's legal fight with Venezuela before launching into a similar battle.

The biggest U.S. company won court orders to freeze up to $12 billion of the OPEC nation's oil assets around the globe as it fights for compensation for a project lost in President Hugo Chavez's nationalization drive.

Exxon's challenge marks the fiercest rebuttal yet to the recent efforts by oil and natural gas producing nations to take advantage of soaring energy costs by changing contract terms to increase returns to the state.

"I think the simple answer is, other companies are going to watch and wait and see if this approach of Exxon's is effective," said Mike Wittner, analyst with Societe Generale in London.

Countries with large hydrocarbon reserves from Bolivia to Ecuador to Russia have been adjusting terms along with the surge in oil prices, which jumped from $10 a barrel in 1999 to a record $100 a barrel in January.

U.S. oil prices jumped $3.66 on Friday to $91.77 a barrel in part due to concerns about supplies from Venezuela, one of the top exporters of crude to the United States.

Venezuela's nationalization effort, led by President Hugo Chavez, has been among the most sweeping, and some analysts credit the outspoken left-wing leader for inspiring other regional producers to follow suit.

With fierce competition for limited global oil reserves, many companies operating in Venezuela have been more amenable to the changes in project terms.

Exxon, which had a smaller percentage of worldwide production in Venezuela than other majors such as ConocoPhillips, is renowned for fighting claims against it, such as the lawsuit following the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

"It's a negotiating ploy," said independent economist and analyst Phil Verleger. "Every company has a different style. Exxon's style is to litigate," said Verleger.

The administration of Chavez, a harsh critic of U.S. President George W. Bush, called the Exxon asset freeze "judicial terrorism" and said it was aimed at destabilizing Venezuela.

While experts said other companies are taking a less confrontational approach to recoup losses -- French Total agreed to receive $834 million in Venezuelan oil shipments for its stake in a project -- some said the move could send a signal to producers considering unilateral contract changes.

"I think resource nationalism is here to stay, but the Exxon ruling suggests that host countries should be very careful about how they go about implementing their prerogatives," said Adam Sieminski, chief energy economist for Deutsche Bank.

"Deals can be renegotiated but contracts should not be completely abrogated."

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)