Citgo proposes debt refinance

Citgo's US parent company plans to refinance $1.9bn in debt due next year, the Venezuelan-controlled US independent refiner said today.

Citgo Holding plans to redeem and repay $1.87bn of principal and related interest and premiums due next year through a refinancing that includes $1.37bn of secured notes due in 2024 and another $500mn four-year term loan.

Citgo will refinance the debt as debate continues over who controls the company. Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's government filed suit in Delaware's Chancery Court last month to press its legal claim to control the refiner, a subsidiary of Venezuelan national oil firm PdV with roughly 750,000 b/d of US refining capacity and a network of terminals and pipelines in the eastern US.

The US stopped recognizing Maduro's government this year and issued sanctions against PdV in January blocking business with the Opec member. A group of 55 mostly western nations instead recognize National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as interim president to oversee new elections. The assembly appointed new administrative boards for PdV, Citgo and its Delaware-based holding companies in February.

US federal courts have generally deferred to President Donald Trump's recognition of the Guaido government in the more than a dozen lawsuits from Venezuelan creditors seeking access to Citgo to satisfy their debts. But while the opposition holds a majority in the National Assembly, Guaido has yet to exert control over companies or other institutions inside Venezuela.