Venezuela Rules Out Sale of Citgo to the US
In an interview published Sunday, Venezuelan Finance Minister Rodolfo Marco said will South American country will not sell Citgo Petroleum Corporation to the United States. Citgo is the U.S. subsidiary of the Venezuelan state owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).
Venezuela’s Finance Minister made the announcement in an interview published by local press Sunday.
In an interview published Sunday, Venezuelan Finance Minister Rodolfo Marco said will South American country will not sell Citgo Petroleum Corporation to the United States. Citgo is the U.S. subsidiary of the Venezuelan state owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).
“The sale of Citgo has been ruled out and the president has affirmed this,” said Marco in an interview with the Venezuelan newspaper, El Universal. “Venezuela will continue with Citgo and will continue to make investments in its refineries.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rejected statements by some government officials and oil industry sources of plans to sell the subsidiary, saying instead that the government has plans to strengthen Citgo-PDVSA.
Citgo’s assets consist of three refineries with a combined capacity of 749,000 barrels per day (bpd). The three units are in Lemont, Illinois; Lake Charles , Louisiana, and Corpus Christie, Texas. Citgo also owns 48 terminals.
The sale of Citgo would have resulted between US$8 billion and US$10 billion.
Marco also said the Venezuela is working to adjust gasoline prices in the country as well as to unify exchange rates. “The exchange rate, fiscal and gasoline issues haven’t been shelved,” he said.
The finance minister also mentioned that the South American country’s coffers will have US$4 billion in reserves by December.