The Venezuelan Government is discussing compensation of foreign oil businesses in order to take over four billionaire projects in the Orinoco oil belt, said Thursday Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramírez.

By May 1st, the Government expects to take control of the operations shared by state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) and major companies, including Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, Reuters reported.

Ramírez had said earlier that the companies would be indemnified for the stocks to be bought by Pdvsa with oil in lieu of cash. However, he claimed later that an individual agreement would be reached with each party.

"There are different choices. It depends on each case. We have different compensation methods for each company," he told reporters.