Exxon Mobil Frozed $12 bn Venezuela Assets

Exxon Mobil Corp. frozed more than US$12 billion in worldwide assets of Venezuela''s PDVSA, as it prepares to dispute the nationalization of a multi-billion dollar oil project in the Orinoco Basin.

The move limits Petroleos de Venezuela's room to manoeuvre as it fends off challenges from major western oil companies over President Hugo Chavez's decision to nationalize four heavy oil projects in the Orinoco Basin, one of the richest oil deposits in the world.