Venezuela denies oil assets frozen

CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Venezuela has denied that Exxon Mobil won a court battle to freeze some $12 billion in assets from Venezuela's state-run energy firm, PDVSA.

Venezuelan officials did admit, however, that $300 million was frozen for a short time while the country and ExxonMobil battle over Venezuela's decision last year to seize the company's oil projects, Globovision TV reported Friday.

Venezuela took over the Exxon Mobil project in the oil-rich Orinoco Belt during its nationalization of the oil sector.

While other foreign firms accepted the terms of the nationalization, in which PDVSA assumed majority control of their projects, Exxon Mobil refused -- leading to the seizure of its stake in Orinoco.