Citgo

Citgo Petroleum Corporation (Citgo, headquartered in Houston, USA) for 2023 is a key foreign asset of the Venezuelan state-owned company PDVSA and has a processing capacity of 749 thousand barrels of oil per day.

History

2026: Following the abduction of Venezuela's president, the US plans to appropriate its oil reserves, but there are no refineries for refining above heavy oil yet

Citgo has three refineries - two on the Gulf Coast and one in Illinois. The Corpus Christi and Lake Charlie refineries just specialized in the processing of Venezuelan oil.

However, after the imposition of sanctions against Venezuela, CITGO reformatted the work to stay afloat. The Corpus Christi and Lake Charlie refineries were modified to process light oil, and at the beginning of 2026 they work by 60-90% with light oil, and not super heavy.

The States at this time does not have "free" refineries for refining oil from Venezuela. Yes, re-equipment is fundamentally possible, but it will take time and financial investments.

2025: U.S. President Trump seeks sale of Citgo to associate Paul Singer

Citgo's debts and the deal to sell it were controlled entirely by JP Morgan.

The case did not move off the ground, as the issue of asset purchases faced possible legal consequences and superimposed on the personal conflict between JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and US President Trump.

Therefore, with the coming to power of the new president of the United States, the struggle for the asset escalated. Dalinar Energy, which was supposed to buy Citgo and whose deal was overseen by JP Morgan, began to lose ground, and the court supported an alternative proposal from Amber Energy, a colleague Trump company.

In early 2025, new auction rules were established. The court makes the decision not only on the basis of price, but also on the likelihood of closing the transaction, including the permission of the US Foreign Assets Control Office (OFAC) and the settlement of the rights to the asset with competitors.

And in the spring and summer, everything was practically decided: Dalinar Energy (created by Gold Reserve Corporation to take over Citgo) was called the favorite, which offered over $7.3 billion. In August, they even said that the process was close to completion.

But then, after the activation of the Trump team in the direction of Venezuela, Amber Energy (another company created for the acquisition of Citgo by the Elliott Investment Investment Fund) took the stage.

It was surprising that Amber Energy offered only $5.9 billion, and the court, after lengthy hearings, eventually approved the deal in favor of the Elliott Investment subsidiary because of the guarantees submitted to OFAC that the transaction would be completed without costs and lawsuits.

The beneficiary of Amber Energy, which claims the assets, is Paul Singer - a major donor to the US Republican Party and one of Donald Trump's main donors in his presidential campaign. Given their connections, it was quite in the spirit of Trump to ensure control over strategic assets and hit competitors.

2023

The United States has set a date for the auction for the sale of the company

In October 2023, Venezuela enters the final stage of a lengthy legal battle, during which its most valuable foreign asset, Citgo Petroleum Corp., will be auctioned off to settle claims against the government and the oil company (see below).

Citgo was protected by U.S. sanctions against Venezuela that prevented creditors from seizing the refinery. However, in October 2023, a US judge ordered the sale of the parent company, PDV Holding Inc, to begin this month after Washington made it clear that it would not prevent this.

Citgo lenders

The sale process starts on October 23, the auction is scheduled for June 6, 2024.

US transfers US branch of company to Venezuelan opposition

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on May 1, 2023 condemned the decision of the American administration to transfer control of the Venezuelan opposition, united in the Unitary Platform, the American branch of the state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA Citgo.

Maduro stressed that "the brazen theft of a company estimated at $8 billion, which owns more than 10 thousand gas stations in the United States, was committed, brazenly stealing a company with an annual profit exceeding $1 billion."

He pointed out that the Venezuelan company is illegally transferred to "unknown people, the leadership of the no longer existing National Assembly," people living abroad and fleeing Venezuela.

2022

Net income $2.814 billion

The American oil refining company Citgo Petroleum Corp. (an asset of the Venezuelan state corporation Petroleos de Venezuela SA) in 2022 received $2.814 billion in net profit, PDVSA said.

The company's EBITDA amounted to $4.411 billion.

The schedule for the sale of the company's securities has been assigned

In October 2022, a Delaware court in the United States approved a schedule for the sale of Citgo securities and the attraction of Evercore Group investment bank to organize transactions. The Venezuelan authorities called this decision illegal and announced that they intend to use international institutions and mechanisms to protect their assets.

2021: US court approves sale of controlling stake in company to compensate $970 million to Canadian gold miner Crystallex for expropriation of its assets by Venezuela

In 2021, a Delaware court approved the sale of shares of a controlling stake in PDV Holdings (a unit of PDVSA, the only asset of which is Citgo) in order to raise funds to pay compensation in the amount of $970 million to the Canadian gold mining company Crystallex for expropriation of its assets by Venezuela.

2018: Citgo shares become collateral for PDVSA debt

Citgo is an oil refining company headquartered in Houston in Texas. 100% of its shares belonged to the Venezuelan PDVSA. Three refineries were owned, as well as dozens of other facilities and retail outlets.

Such a scheme provided Venezuelans with the processing of heavy oil produced in Venezuela. Through the Citgo network, Venezuelans received a supply channel and the largest American market, and could also attract investment in the country and mitigate the consequences of sanctions.

After the default of Venezuela and PDVSA, creditors began to demand the repayment of debts, using Citgo shares as collateral. In 2018-2019, creditors' claims began, and in 2023, a court decision started hearings on the sale of Citgo to pay off debts.