Exxon was awarded a $1.6 billion settlement by an international arbitration panel for assets seized by Venezuela ’s government in 2007, a fraction of what the crude producer had sought. The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, awarded the sum to Irving, Texas-based Exxon as compensation for investments in the Cerro Negro project and other losses, according to a on the ICSID website today. The world’s most valuable had originally sought as much as $14.7 billion for assets nationalized after it refused to accept terms of a partnership with Petroleos de Venezuela SA. “Our goal with the arbitration was to seek compensation for the fair market value of assets that were expropriated,” Exxon said in an e-mailed statement. “Exxon Mobil’s affiliate engaged in extensive discussions with PDVSA and government officials but was unable to reach agreement on fair compensation.” President Hugo Chavez ’s handpicked successor, […]