U.S. Okays $20.8-B Claims vs Venezuela In Citgo Auction

A US court has approved claims by 17 Venezuela-linked creditors, including ConocoPhillips, Rusoro Mining, and Koch Industries, to get proceeds from a coming auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum to satisfy claims for expropriations and debt defaults, as reported by Marianna Parraga and Gary Macwilliams for Reuters.

Creditors have flocked to a U.S. court in Delaware to press claims that are almost double Citgo's $11 billion to $13 billion value. I Photo: Beyond My Ken Wikimedia

The list, which reduced the scope of the claims to $20.8 billion from the $24 billion sought by creditors, comes after a court officer excluded arbitration awards and court rulings that had failed to satisfy the court's requirements on time.

Creditors have flocked to a U.S. court in Delaware to press claims that are almost double Citgo's $11 billion to $13 billion value.

The Houston-based refiner operates an 807,000-barrel-per-day refining network, 38 terminals, six pipelines, and supplies 4,200 independent retailers.

First bids for the shares are due on Monday, with a second bidding round to come later this year. A final decision on the winners is still months away, with awards requiring approval by the US Treasury Department, which has protected Citgo from creditors since 2019.

WEEKLY FEATURE : Jose Mari Chan And The Christmas Anthem