Venezuela seized foreign oil projects in 2007, and a Delaware judge ordered its US refiner Citgo sold for $5.9 billion to pay the claims

In 2007 Venezuela expropriated three ConocoPhillips oil projects during Hugo Chávez's nationalisations. A World Bank tribunal (ICSID) awarded ConocoPhillips $8.75 billion, and a US judge upheld the award in August 2022. The miner Crystallex had sued Venezuela in 2017 over its own expropriation, and other creditors joined it in pursuing PDV Holding, the parent of Citgo. Citgo owns three refineries in Texas, Louisiana and Illinois with 829,000 barrels a day of capacity, plus 43 terminals. It is Venezuela's main foreign asset. After several rounds of bidding, Judge Leonard Stark approved a $5.9 billion bid from Amber Energy, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, in November 2025. The price was about $7 billion below an Evercore valuation and $12 billion below the figure from Venezuela's expert. Venezuela and others appealed in January 2026. On 3 January 2026 the United States ousted Maduro, and in March it recognised Delcy Rodríguez as interim president. Venezuela's lawyers then asked the appeals court to pause the case. On 13 October 2026 the US Justice Department told the Third Circuit it had "no views to express at this time." The court heard argument in October 2026 and has not ruled. The sale has not closed: Amber still needs a Treasury licence, and a September 2026 licence update bars any change in who governs Citgo.