ConocoPhillips CEO sees weakness in U.S. economy

By Michael Erman

HOUSTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips (COP.N) Chief Executive James Mulva said on Tuesday the U.S. economy was showing signs of weakness and beginning to affect the oil industry.

"We're starting to see that demand is not as strong as it was. The economy has softened," he said, speaking to reporters before giving a wide-ranging speech on climate change at the CERAweek energy conference.

Mulva also said the oil company hoped to wrap-up talks with Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA this year over compensation for its oil operations seized there in 2007.

"We continue our discussions with PDVSA and the Venezuelan authorities," Mulva said. "I believe that we are making progress. It will take time. I would like to see and hope that we can come to some sort of solution to this in 2008."

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), the largest U.S. company, has won temporary court rulings to freeze up to $12 billion of Venezuela's global assets in the fight over payment for its own project that was nationalized last year.

Conoco's Mulva said the company had no plans to follow the same path as Exxon Mobil.

"We're going to do this in a very deliberate way the objective is to reach an amicable solution so as not to follow the (arbitration) process through for a number of years," he said.

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