Reuters) - Venezuela has solved a $ 1.2 billion arbitration claim to prevent its most precious asset abroad, the refining unit of Citgo Petroleum Corp in the United States, from being confiscated by a creditor, according to Canadian court documents .
The settlement with Crystallex International Corp suspends the court order for the Canadian mining company to take control of Citgo as a way to collect compensation decided on an arbitration award against Venezuela, which has grown to 1,400 million dollars with interest.
Venezuela completed an initial payment of 425 million dollars, largely on "liquid securities," on November 23, according to a presentation at the Ontario Court of Justice, where Crystallex has been operating since 2011 under creditor protection.
The South American country agreed to pay the remaining amount in installments early in 2021. If Venezuela fails to credit by January 10 the collateral for the remaining payments, Crystallex can restart the legal proceedings.
A US judge in Delaware was to hear arguments on December 20 to auction Citgo from its parent company, PDVSA, Venezuela's state oil company. Citgo operates three refineries in the United States that are a key destination for Venezuela's oil exports, and has been valued in billions of dollars, Reuters reports
