Venezuela’s Citgo Petroleum Corp. is at risk of having the due date moved up to pay off billions of dollars in debt, according to a Fitch Ratings report, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The state-owned, U.S.-based crude refiner could experience a change in control that brings forward the due date on billions of dollars in debt, Fitch said in a Monday report that put Citgo’s credit ratings on negative watch. Fitch’s negative watch covers a $900 million revolving credit line that comes due in July plus another $1.9 billion in bonds that mature in February 2020. Citgo is caught up in the political crisis rocking Venezuela, with two parallel governments laying claim to the company. Venezuela’s foreign creditors are also watching the refiner, eager to seize its valuable Gulf Coast refineries to collect on billions of dollars in debt incurred under the country’s ruling leftist regime. A change in ownership would mean acceleration of the company’s bonds and loans and a forced refinancing of the debt stack in a tough borrowing environment, according to Fitch.
