tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5923760936217911345.post7955788091572197141..comments2023-09-22T06:09:50.644-04:00Comments on VHeadline Venezuela News: U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts says probable that Exxon Mobil will succeed in its legal battle against PDVSA...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5923760936217911345.post-57412494994106774832008-02-13T22:04:00.000-04:302008-02-13T22:04:00.000-04:30REALITY CHECK:Let's be clear here about what's act...REALITY CHECK:<BR/>Let's be clear here about what's actually going on regarding the Exxon-Mobil action against PdVSA.<BR/><BR/>The only legitimate reason why someone would go to a court to have another's assets seized, would be because there was a demonstrably good chance that the latter would simply make off with any goods in question before some decision was reached -- i.e. likely against them. However, neither PdVSA nor the venezuelan government has ever given anyone reason or opportunity to believe that they were in any way a 'flight risk' (or whatever it's called in grubby business law like this) -- let alone that Exxon-Mobil could ever expect to win such huge sums as the amounts they asked the judge to seize for them. In fact, <I>PdVSA willingly went into arbitration with Exxon-Mobil over the Orinoco development</I> -- and was apparently clearly bargaining in good faith at the time of this blind-side and under-handed move by Exxon-Mobil. The company really has no leg to stand on here -- yet they could and did simply go out and get themselves a judgement out of the blue, clearly intended to be merely a pressure tactic aimed at getting PdVSA to concede to them a better outcome in the arbitration. Which only goes to prove that the law is an ass -- and that judges can be tools, if not simply outright corrupt or stupid or both.<BR/><BR/>Fact of the matter is, Exxon-Mobil is clearly only applying political pressure on PdVSA and the venezuelan government here <I>because they can</I>; and because they also know they can get some dumb judge or other in the Empire to give them exactly what they want -- the true facts of the matter be damned: the whole point of the exercise being to smear PdVSA and Venezuela and cast doubt on their character. Which is where the political angle comes in -- so PdVSA and Venezuela are right on the money regarding such a ploy.<BR/><BR/>The smart thing for PdVSA and the venezuelan government to do is what they're doing now: making Exxon-Mobil pay, politically, in other ways -- and probably to redouble their efforts to see to it that Exxon-Mobil gets the least amount of compensation possible from the arbitration case. And then they're out of the picture -- permanently.<BR/><BR/>Smart move, Exxon.<BR/><BR/>And that includes them thinking they're going to be riding back in on the backs of the U.S. marines. Forget that one. But they're welcome to try.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10033811987040588253noreply@blogger.com