PDVSA Tells UK Court Exxon-Requested Asset Freeze Unjustified

State oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PdVSA, argued to a U.K. court Thursday that an injunction obtained by Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) to freeze up to $12 billion of the Venezuelan company's assets was unjustified and should be repealed. Lawyers representing PdVSA told the judge that the London court's decision last month to order a freezing injunction had been beyond its jurisdiction and unwarranted given the nature of the dispute between PdVSA and ExxonMobil, which is seeking compensation for an oil project nationalized last year by the Venezuelan government.