PHOENIX CANADA OIL TO APPEAL RULING
<Phoenix Canada Oil Co Ltd> said it
intends to appeal a ruling in U.S. Federal District Court of
Delaware on its suit against Texaco Inc <TX>, Chevron Corp
<CHV>, Chevron's Gulf Oil unit and their Ecuador subsidiaries.
    The court ruled against Phoenix's claim that a royalty it
held should have entitled it to a share of the 160 mln U.S.
dlrs paid to the defendants when they sold 62.5 pct of their
working interest in Ecuador oil operations, Phoenix said.
    However, the court did award Phoenix 1,250,000 Canadian
dlrs in underpayments, the company said.
    Phoenix Canada Oil said the fiduciary relationship that
existed between Phoenix, as the royalty owner, and the
defendants, as the working interest operators, was fundamental
in the oil industry and was not reflected in the court's
ruling.
 Reuter
