PDH Holding, the parent company of refining and service station firm Citgo Petroleum, is the most valuable asset of the Venezuelan state outside the country. Photo: Beyond My Ken.
Guacamaya, July 3, 2025. A U.S. court official overseeing the auction of PDV Holdings, the parent company of Citgo Petroleum, has recommended the $7.38 billion bid led by Gold Reserve through Dalinar Energy.
The recommendation comes at the close of the auction period, which also saw bids from Contrarian Funds, commodities trader Vitol, and a little-known fund, Black Lion.
PDV Holding, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), was transferred to the Interim Government and the 2015 National Assembly starting in 2019. The auction is being held to settle debts exceeding $23 billion owed by the Bolivarian Republic and PDVSA to international creditors.
Court official Robert Pincus explained that he considered both the size of the bids and the certainty of closing a potential deal. As a result, only the offers from Dalinar and Red Tree—owned by Contrarian—met the requirements.
Pincus stated he was “reasonably satisfied that Dalinar is likely to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals,” according to the document, adding that Dalinar’s bid was “the highest that meets the tender’s requirements.”
Gold Reserve is one of the Republic’s creditors, claiming $1.1 billion for the expropriation of its gold mining projects in Venezuela.
Dalinar’s latest bid combines capital and debt swaps. It is backed by a consortium of creditors, including Rusoro Mining, two subsidiaries of U.S. conglomerate Koch, and German multinational Siemens Energy. The initial offer was $7.1 billion.
