WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. on Wednesday extended for three months a license that protects Venezuela-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum from creditors trying to seize its assets to recoup pending debts.
U.S. protections on the Houston-based refiner have prevented bondholders and other creditors from moving ahead on billions of dollars in claims against Venezuela issued by U.S. courts and international tribunals.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) extended the general license until July 20, according to the department’s website.
A spokesperson for Citgo was not immediately available to comment.
Citgo split from Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA in 2019 under an order by Venezuela’s National Assembly after the U.S. imposed sanctions intended to oust President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has since 2019 recognized the opposition-led congress as the entity controlling the refining subsidiary, extending protection to prevent its breakup at the hands of Venezuela creditors.
The three-month extension comes as a U.S. district court judge is seeking federal approval to schedule an auction that could lead to a breakup of the seventh-largest U.S. refiner by volume.
A U.S. court this month asked OFAC for guidance on its aim to auction shares in Citgo’s parent to cover a $970 million judgment obtained by Crystallex International over the expropriation of its mining assets in Venezuela. Any OFAC reply would be relayed to the judge at month’s end.
O-I Glass Inc, Huntington Ingalls Industries, ACL1 Investments, Rusoro Mining Ltd and Gold Reserve separately have won attachments contingent on obtaining U.S. Treasury approval to seize assets, or an end to the Treasury protection. Their judgments total $2.6 billion.
ConocoPhillips separately has a claim against Venezuela valued at $1.29 billion over the nationalization of its oil assets in the country.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston, Caitlin Webber in Washington; Editing by Paul Grant and Marguerita Choy)
