Special master seeks more time to make decision on winning bid. Vitol Group, Gold Reserve have made bids for Citgo parent

Nicolle Yapur, Bloomberg News

CARACAS
EnergiesNet.com 08 02 2024

The court-ordered sale of Venezuela’s US-based refiner Citgo Petroleum’s parent could be postponed for a second time after a court official requested more time to decide on the winning bid.

In a filing Wednesday, the court-appointed special master overseeing the sale, Robert B. Pincus, asked the judge to postpone the deadline for his recommendation on the winning bid for Citgo’s parent, PDV Holding, to Aug. 22. The original deadline was July 31. If granted, the decision is set to push the sale hearing back a month to Oct. 15. 

Shares of PDV Holding are being auctioned off by a Delaware court to satisfy at least part of approximately $20 billion in claims against Venezuela and its state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., some of which are tied to arbitration awards and unpaid bonds. The sale was originally supposed to take place in July 15, but it was postponed after the special master said it needed more time to review the bids.

Companies such as independent refiner Vitol Group and Canadian miner Gold Reserve, which is also a Venezuela creditor, have submitted bids. To move forward with the sale, the buyer will need authorization from the US Treasury, since the assets are currently protected from attachment by US sanctions.

Citgo operates refineries in Louisiana, Illinois and Texas and owns stakes in terminals, pipelines and lubricant plants. The sale of its parent company has been marred with controversy, as Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro blames the opposition, who controls the country’s foreign assets, for losing the company to creditors.

–With assistance from Jef Feeley.

bloomberg.com 08 01 2024