Demand for $40 Billion Bond From Venezuela Snags Citgo Auction

Venezuela’s foreign creditors have long had their eyes on Citgo Petroleum Corp., the US—based refiner that is the South American country’s largest overseas asset. After a lengthy legal battle, Citgo finally seems within their grasp with a court-ordered auction process set to begin next month.

But now the sale may have hit a $40 billion roadblock.

A Citgo Petroleum Corp. Refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Photographer: Bryan Tarnowski/Bloomberg

That’s the amount of a bond that Citgo’s direct US parent, PDV Holding Inc., says will have to be posted by their overall parent, Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, before PDVH will issue replacement stock ...