US backs ExxonMobil's bid for compensation from Venezuela

The US State Department said Wednesday it 'fully supports' ExxonMobil's bid to receive a fair compensation package for its assets in a dispute with Venezuela. Venezuela's state petroleum company PDVSA said Tuesday it suspended oil supplies to ExxonMobil in retaliation for the US energy giant's securing court orders to freeze billions of dollars in global PDVSA assets. The court orders were issued as part of an international arbitration sought by ExxonMobil to gain compensation for the leftist Venezuelan government's nationalization of key oil fields in the Orinoco basin.