Citgo To Settle Or Auctioned By Friday

Citgo must settle with Group 1 creditors by Friday, to forestall US Judge Leonard Stark’s sale process order and the risk of the certiorari petition being denied. Citgo is Venezuela’s most prized overseas asset: the seventh-largest refiner in the US, which also operates over 4,000 petrol stations. It has been valued at $32bn and $40bn by its parent company, while it could be closer to $13bn —the GDP of Venezuela is $96.6bn according to the IMF. It is a subsidiary of PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil firm, separated by PDV Holding and Citgo Holding, based in Delaware, US.

Citgo itself has recovered with up to $5bn, which would be enough to settle its own debts. However, a Delaware court ruled that it was an “alter ego” of the Venezuelan government. The full amount claimed has climbed to over $23bn. Though the court case goes many years back, the argument backing the sentence had nothing to do with actions by President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. Instead, it was that due to the interim government of Juan Guaidó using Citgo funds to finance itself directly, as well as ignoring corporate procedure.