Venezuelan representatives and US officials meet to discuss Citgo auction

Members of Venezuela’s opposition and the boards that oversee Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum have met with U.S. officials and lawmakers since last week in a new effort to stop a judicial auction of shares in the refiner’s parent company to pay to creditors, sources close to the talks said.

A second round of bidding for the company’s shares will be completed next week, the last step in the process before the court awards the auction winners, which is expected to result in a change of ownership of the seventh largest US refiner.

Because it is important?

A total of 18 creditors, including ConocoPhillips COP.N, Koch Industries and miners Crystallex, Rusoro RML.V and Gold Reserve GRZ.V, seek to collect up to $21.3 billion. But the highest bid in the first round of the auction fell short of $8 billion, prompting Citgo’s boards to protest and push for an alternative payment option.

If successful, the talks could lead to a change in a policy issued by the US government last year, which gave the green light to the federal court in Delaware to move forward with the auction.

Citgo and its supervisory boards did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Whats Next?

Venezuelan representatives want a pause in the judicial process until presidential elections are held in Venezuela in July.

By the numbers

Citgo has plants in Louisiana, Illinois and Texas that together can process 807,000 barrels per day of oil. Over the past two years, the company has generated $4.8 billion in net profits.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to the newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.