Bolivia says foreign oil ventures seek arbitration

A Bolivian energy official says three international oil ventures will seek arbitration in a dispute over nationalized assets.

State oil company chief Carlos Villegas says the German-Peruvian Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos de Bolivia and two affiliates of London-based BP Plc have officially informed the government that they will press claims.

Sheila Williams, a BP spokeswoman in London, said BP is in discussions with the government and could not comment.

The BP ventures are Air BP, which supplied fuel at 15 Bolivian airports, and Empresa Petrolera Chaco, which developed natural gas in eastern Bolivia, according to BP's Web site.

Bolivia's state oil company took control of the two in May 2008 and January this year.