Venezuela 1: ExxonMobil 0

It hasn’t been a good week so far for the US corporate sector. The
big Wall Street bank Bear Stearns was gone like a puff of smoke on
Monday morning, absorbed by a rival, JP Morgan in the midst of the
squeeze on credit generated by some particularly irresponsible mortgage
lending in New York. Worth $18,000 million in April last year, Bear
Stearns went for $236 million, a pittance. Rumours circulate that the
same fate awaits other former big beasts in New York’s financial jungle.

On Tuesday morning the unprepossessing surroundings of the basement
of the Royal Courts of Justice, Court 22 were the venue for the final
main round in a battle royal between the US company Exxon, the world’s
biggest private sector oil giant, and PDVSA, the state oil company of
President Hugo Chávez’ Venezuela which last year took control of its
operations.

The Venezuelans were seeking to lift an embargo on assets worth
$12,000 million that Exxon’s subsidiary Cerro Negro had obtained from
the British courts in January so as to ensure it would be compensated
for any loss. The oil company had obtained it as part of its fight
against the nationalisation by Chávez. In the event the Venezuelans won
their legal fight on Tuesday and Exxon took a big hit.

The court was littered with ungainly packing cases full of
documents, the public gallery had clearly been transformed into a
temporary store room and had not room for onlookers. The public and
journalists ended up squashed awkwardly into whatever space in the
court they could find. The proceedings went ahead with the judge Mr
Justice Walker, the court officials, the barristers and the solicitors
unrobed: they had laid aside their wigs and gowns for the drabbest of
business clothes. Solemn and imposing it was certainly not. But it have
been worse. “Sometimes the judge allows the lawyers to take off their
jackets”, commented one experienced observer

Whatever the inelegance the import of Paul Walker’s judgement will
have widespread international repercussions, as Samuel Moncada, the
Venezuelan ambassador who was present in court in the final stages, was
quick to point out. “This judgement is a good one for Venezuela, a good
one for OPEC and a good one for countries which want to control their
own natural resources”, he explained with quiet jubilation in the
Victorian Gothic spendour of the main floor of the building above Court
22 before he went off for television and radio interviews. The media in
this home country which had been agog to get the verdict which had been
expected a week ago. The lawyers representing Exxon limited themselves
to a tight-lipped “no comment”.

Venezuela had come to an agreement with other international oil
firms which had been nationalised but claimed that Exxon exaggerated
the value of its property which the Venezuelans put at no more than
$750 million. President Hugo Chavez has accused the US government of
being involved in the dispute as part of its general offensive against
him.

The British judgement is not quite the end of the affair. Courts in
the Netherlands and in the Netherlands Antilles also froze PDVSA’s
assets and will have to make their own decisions about whether to
continue such measures. Nevertheless it is clear that Tuesday morning’s
judgement in London will is likely to have a big influence on what they
decide. Thereafter it is expected that the arbitration will continue
between the two sides.

It will also be a boost to the cohesion of OPEC itself, much
criticised by the oil-importing countries at a time of high prices. A
motion was adopted unanimously at this month’s OPEC meeting in Vienna
which expressed its support to Venezuela "in the exercise of its
sovereign rights over its natural resources, in accordance with
international law". It had, moved by Galo Chiriboga, the OPEC
representative and minister for petroleum and mines Zambrano of
Ecuador. The South American country, whose leader Rafael Correa is an
ally of Chávez, rejoined the Organisation last October after a rather
mysterious, politically motivated absence of fifteen years.

Britain will gain a small benefit from the case. British diplomats
in Caracas have been worrying that the fact that Exxon was suing PDVSA
in London was throwing a dark shadow over British relations with
Venezuela.