US judge upholds PDVSA 2020 bonds, stalling Citgo auction

Venezuela’s oil exports fell 10% in July as PDVSA partners awaited US operational clearances. [https://invezz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/venezuela-sanctions-invezz.jpg] A US judge validated the 2020 bonds of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA on Thursday, temporarily putting on hold a separate auction of shares of the US parent of Citgo Petroleum. According to Reuters, the ruling confirmed the rights of bondholders to the Houston-based refiner, one of Venezuela’s most treasured foreign assets. Those bonds are secured by a controlling interest in Citgo and ultimately owned by Caracas-headquartered PDVSA. Citgo could be seized by international creditors due to Venezuela’s default on the debt in 2019. YEARS OF LEGAL BATTLES Bondholders and firms whose assets were expropriated in Venezuela have fought for years in US courts to recover claims from the country’s international holdings. Citgo, valued at roughly $13 billion and the seventh-largest refiner in the United States, is at the centre of the conflicts. Venezuela ceased servicing the bonds in 2019, along with other government and PDVSA debt. Companies that lost property during the expropriations carried out by the late President Hugo Chavez eventually filed…