China to receive Chalmette oil from Venezuela

Venezuela is redirecting oil to China that had previously been allocated to a U.S. refinery jointly owned by its state oil enterprise and Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's No. 1 oil company by market value, according to Venezuela's oil minister, Rafael Ramirez.

"Everything went to China," the minister said.

Rafael noted that Exxon Mobil has stopped ordering crude oil for a refinery in the New Orleans suburb of Chalmette over the ongoing legal disputes between the Irving, Texas-based oil company and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).

Exxon Mobil and PDVSA are now locked in a legal battle over compensation for the nationalization of a jointly owned heavy oil project in Venezuela's Orinoco basin, sources said.