Hedge fund Elliott Investment Management has urged a court not to delay its bid for Citgo Petroleum, arguing that the assets of the Venezuela-owned oil refiner are losing value and that creditors are unlikely to receive a better offer from other buyers.

The appeal came in a court filing after creditors criticised Elliott’s conditional offer of up to $7.3bn, submitted through its wholly-owned subsidiary Amber Energy, as insufficient and likely to be rejected.

Amber Energy reiterated its stance, threatening to withdraw its bid unless the court addresses several key concerns. One of the main issues is Amber’s plan to set aside more than $2bn of its offer to account for a separate lawsuit involving Venezuela bondholders. The company also seeks protection from further lawsuits attempting to claim control over Citgo’s assets.

Citgo, based in Houston, operates three US refineries, 38 terminals, six pipelines, and supplies fuel to 4,200 independent retailers. It is the focal point of an auction in a US District Court in Delaware, which aims to satisfy $21bn in claims stemming from Venezuela’s defaults and expropriations.

Amber Energy emphasised that it has secured a debt commitment from Barclays and Citibank, demonstrating its financial capacity to complete the acquisition. Additionally, it has assembled an eight-person management team with expertise in refining, prepared to take over Citgo’s operations.

However, the court filing did not address other concerns raised by creditors, including the lack of a disclosed breakup fee if the deal falls through and objections to preventing other bidders from accessing Citgo’s financial data until after the court rules on the breakup fee.

Amber Energy defended its proposal, describing it as "the best and only realistic pathway" for creditors to recover their payments, despite creditor scepticism that the offer would provide auction proceeds in a timely manner.