Siemens has filed a lawsuit in Texas against parent company Citgo Petroleum, per Reuters

By Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Siemens Energy Inc has filed a lawsuit in a Texas court against Citgo Petroleum’s parent PDV Holding, seeking to recover about $200 million in an unpaid promissory note from Venezuela, according to a court document seen on wednesday

Creditors who are part of an auction of parent Citgo’s stock in a Delaware court to pay billions of dollars in expropriations and debt defaults in Venezuela have begun turning to other U.S. courts to enforce their receivables, a strategy to gain priority when auction proceeds are paid. .

The second bidding round of the auction was completed last month, with the winning selection of an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management. If the judge approves the $7.3 billion offer, it may not be enough money to pay more than a handful of the $21 billion in creditor claims before the court.

Citgo and PDV Holding are American subsidiaries of state oil company PDVSA, headquartered in Caracas. The dispute between PDVSA and Siemens stems from a transaction in which engineering firm Dresser-Rand Company, acquired by Siemens Energy, was entitled to receive approximately $166 million under a promissory note.

“SEI obtained a judgment against PDVSA in the Southern District of New York and now seeks to hold PDV Holding liable as PDVSA’s alter ego for the total amount of the judgment, which now exceeds $200 million,” it said the document submitted by Siemens.

The Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund and two related companies filed similar lawsuits in Texas and New York courts this year, threatening to derail the Delaware auction, which is scheduled to be completed in the coming months.

A court officer appointed to oversee the auction asked U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark to prevent creditors from going to other courts to pursue the same assets. His decision is pending.