ExxonMobil has won a court order freezing 12 billion dollars in worldwide assets of Venezuela's state oil firm as part of its battle for compensation over Caracas's nationalization of key oil fields.

The US energy giant said Thursday that the High Court in London had granted its request to freeze the assets of Petroleos de Venezuela (PVDSA).

"The freezing order prohibits PDVSA from disposing of its assets worldwide up to a value of 12 billion dollars," said Margaret Ross, an ExxonMobil spokeswoman.

The company said it has also secured separate orders from courts in the Netherlands and Netherlands Antilles to freeze assets in those jurisdictions of up to 12 billion dollars. A New York court also froze 300 million dollars.

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ExxonMobil has requested international arbitration as it seeks compensation from Venezuela after it pulled out of the country when the Orinoco fields were nationalized.

In June, the government of President Hugo Chavez passed a law forcing multinationals to give at least 60 percent of the capital in their Venezuelan operations to the PDVSA.

ExxonMobil and Conoco Phillips both refused and withdrew from Venezuela, one of the world's top 10 oil producers and a major supplier to the United States, its biggest customer.

Chavez has said Caracas would pay compensation to the multinational companies based on the book-price for the assets left behind, and not on the current prices on the oil market.