Citgo formally cuts ties with PDVSA

Baku. 27 February. REPORT.AZ/ U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp is formally cutting ties with its parent, state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA, to meet U.S. sanctions imposed on the OPEC country, two people close to the decision told Reuters on Tuesday, Report informs.

Executives at the Houston-based firm set a Feb. 26 deadline to end relationships with PDVSA following sanctions designed to curb oil revenues to socialist President Nicolas Maduro and support the nation’s transition government formed by Venezuelan congress head Juan Guaido.

Citgo has halted payments to its parent, subscriptions to corporate services, email communications and minimized mentions to PDVSA on marketing materials and its website.

Expatriate Venezuelan employees this month returned to Venezuela and a procurement subsidiary operating from Citgo’s headquarters, PDVSA Services, was shut, the people familiar with the matter said.