US to Permit Court-Ordered Auction of Citgo Parent’s Shares
May 01, 2023 by Bloomberg(Bloomberg) -- The US will not block the court-ordered sale of shares of Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s parent company, PDV Holding, to pay off creditors who have sought payment from the Venezuelan state.
US Justice Department officials said in a letter to a court-appointed representative that the government would not take enforcement actions, paving the way for creditors such as Canadian mining company Crystallex International Corp. to collect their legal claims on the refiner’s sale.
On Monday, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said the US’s “repudiable and despicable” decision threatened the Venezuelan people and the country’s sovereignty, and called to reject it.
Houston-based Citgo is one of Venezuela’s most important overseas assets and sanctions had previously blocked any share transfer. The court official overseeing the sale, known as a special master, had sought clarification from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control over the sale in the case pending in a US federal court in Delaware.
“Under these circumstances, OFAC will not take enforcement action against individuals or entities for participating in or complying with the Prefatory Steps set out in the Sales Order, as well as those who engage in transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to participation in and compliance with such steps,” the letter said.
Any ultimate sale will require additional authorization from Treasury’s OFAC, a US official said. Such a license will likely not be ready for consideration for many months, and will be issued only after due diligence concerning the potential purchaser and proposed transactions, the person, with direct knowledge of the situation, said.
Citgo is under the administration of the country’s opposition after control was taken away from state oil firm PDVSA. The company posted record net income of $2.8 billion last year.
Toronto-based Crystallex had been seeking compensation after its gold mine was seized in Venezuela by late president Hugo Chavez. The mining company won an arbitration award in 2016. Oil driller ConocoPhillips is also seeking compensation for its seized assets, along with other creditors.
Representatives for the country’s opposition did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
(Adds Maduro’s comments in third paragraph, US official’s comments in sixth paragraph)
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By
More Oil and Gas

Oil Falls as Optimism Over Saudi-Led Production Cut Fades Fast
Jun 06, 2023
How Midnight OPEC Dealmaking Won Gulf Unity at Africa’s Expense
Jun 05, 2023
Oil Rises After Saudis Pledge Million-Barrel Cut at OPEC+ Meet
Jun 05, 2023
OPEC Haggles Over Possible Output Cuts After Day One of Meeting
Jun 03, 2023
A Global Stock Trader’s Guide to More Extreme Weather Events
Jun 03, 2023
VIX Tumbles Toward Pre-Covid Levels as Stocks Gain: Markets Wrap
Jun 02, 2023
Oil Heads for Weekly Decline Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting on Supply
Jun 02, 2023
Oil Edges Higher on Debt-Deal Progress, China Factory Activity
Jun 01, 2023
Oil Holds Deep Slump on Weak Demand Signals Ahead of OPEC+ Meet
May 31, 2023