US judge clears way for more Venezuela creditors to join Citgo auction

A U.S. judge on Monday granted a large group of Venezuela-linked creditors rights to participate in a January auction of shares in the parent of Houston-based refiner Citgo Petroleum. A precedent-setting lawsuit by Canadian miner Crystallex Corp formally tied Venezuela-owned Citgo to the South American country’s debts and opened the door to some $24 billion in claims being applied to the refining firm through an auction of shares in a Citgo parent whose only asset is the oil refiner.