Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips biggest cases

* Venezuela offered Exxon $1 bln, company wants more

CARACAS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Venezuela expects verdicts in high-profile international compensation claims from oil majors Exxon Mobil and Conoco Phillips later this year, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Monday.

The South American OPEC member nation is battling about 20 arbitration cases triggered by nationalizations that were ordered by President Hugo Chavez's socialist administration

The biggest by far are the Exxon and Conoco cases, which stem from the 2007 state takeover of multibillion dollar extra heavy crude projects in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt.

Venezuela has proposed paying Exxon $1 billion in compensation, far less than it wants.

The two companies originally claimed more than $40 billion in combined compensation, while Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA calculated the assets, after payments to creditors, were worth less than $2 billion.

Some analysts say PDVSA might have to sell overseas holdings to meet a big compensation bill. The company has cash flow problems despite high oil prices because most of its income goes toward funding Chavez's socialist spending.

The verdicts at an international compensation tribunal could put pressure on Venezuela's public finances ahead of a presidential election in October 2012, when Chavez will be seeking a new six-year term