The special administrator of the shares could suggest proceeding with the auction of Citgo shares without OFAC authorization, but it is unlikely that potential buyers will appear in that scenario of uncertainty.
A United States Judge could rule in the next few hours in favor of a definitive schedule for the auction of shares of Citgo Petroleum, a subsidiary of the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) in the United States, currently at risk of being liquidated by US courts to pay compensation for lost lawsuits against companies affected by expropriations during the government of Hugo Chávez.
Court documents reviewed by Reuters They suggest that Judge Leonard Stark is considering offering the special administrator of the shares up to six months to give the green light for the sale, a period of time in which he would try to obtain the consent of the Office of Foreign Assets Control ( OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury, which has blocked this process through a license that protects the Venezuelan company.
According to information from Reuters, the manager of the shares could suggest proceeding without OFAC authorization, but it is unlikely that potential buyers will appear in this uncertain scenario.
*Also read: Citgo is ready to receive oil imports from Venezuela if the US authorizes it
Last March, Stark authorized the special administrator to start a marketing and sale process for the auction of Citgo shares, even authorizing him to choose the winning bid. However, he had to postpone this process due to the OFAC license.
This marketing and sales process proposed by the judge allows for an initial offering on the assets that acts as an offer to reserve the shares for that buyer, in addition to the sale of some shares of Citgo’s parent.
This sale would generate enough income to cover the remaining $970 million debt to Crystallex, after Venezuela paid $400 million, which was deducted from the total debt of $1.4 billion.
Crystallex is not the only company waiting to be compensated through the auction of Citgo shares, as another award favors ConocoPhillips, an energy company that claims some $8.5 billion plus interest.
*Also read: Guaidó shows possible payment agreement to Conoco Phillips thanks to Citgo results
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