Washington - Venezuela was ordered Thursday to pay ExxonMobil $1.6bn to compensate the US oil company for the expropriation of oil fields.
The Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, a World Bank tribunal, issued the order at its website.
While the order is a win for ExxonMobil in a complaint dating back to 2007, the company had demanded $14.4bn.
Prior to the expropriation of ExxonMobil's investments in the Cerro Negro and La Ceiba projects, the US oil company and the Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos cooperated under a partnership.