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CARACAS -(Dow Jones)- Venezuela is negotiating a settlement in its arbitration case with Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) in which the government may pay the U.S. oil major around $ 6 billion, a Venezuelan official told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday. The government of socialist President Hugo Chavez is still in talks with Exxon for assets seized during a nationalization campaign in 2007, Prosecutor General Carlos Escarra said in a phone interview. "The state knows that it has to pay and settle the expropriations," he said, adding that officials from both parties are still evaluating a final settlement. A spokesman at Exxon declined comment on the news. Last year, Exxon cut its claim against Venezuela to $ 7 billion from the initial $ 12 billion that the company had asked for its crude oil project. The settlement amount offered by Escarra is considerably higher than the $ 2.5 billion total that state oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela, or PdVSA, earlier this year said it was willing to pay Exxon and ConocoPhillips (COP), which also had property seized nearly four years ago. PdVSA officials have said that they expect decisions in the Exxon and ConocoPhillips cases this year. In April, officials at Conoco said, however, that they are still years away from receiving compensation as appeals could drag the decision for a long time. Venezuela has 17 cases pending in front of the International Centre for Settlement and Investment Disputes, according to a list of ongoing cases on the ICSID website.