CARACAS, May 5: Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has signed accords with Eni of Italy to cede control of its stake in two oil fields, making ConocoPhillips the only company holding out on an accord Venezuela calls crucial to future business.

Venezuela’s oil minister recently said the nation had a “conflict” with ConocoPhillips for not signing the largely symbolic deal agreeing to abide by President Hugo Chavez's oil field nationalisation decree. The accord, which refers to fields that PDVSA has already taken over, shows that Eni is trying to keep a foothold in the Opec nation even though it launched arbitration against Venezuela for seizing an oil field in 2006.—Reuters