Elliott group seeks to buy Citgo Petroleum from Exxon director

Gregory Goff, Exxon Mobil's board director, recently joined a newly-formed company backed by Elliott Investment Management that is seeking to take control of Venezuelan oil refiner Citgo Petroleum.

Citgo and Exxon compete in the motor-fuels and lubricants business. Exxon, the third largest U.S. refiner of oil by capacity, and Citgo are the seventh largest.

Goff, a former Exxon executive who joined the company in 2021, as part of an oppositional board of directors, has been named CEO of Amber Energy. This Elliott affiliate was announced as the winning bidder at a U.S. Court auction for shares of Citgo parent PDV Holding.

Exxon did not immediately comment on Goff’s status within the company. Goff is listed on the company's website as a member of the executive and finance committees, and chairman of the audit committee.

Amber Energy's spokesperson declined to comment.

Amber's bid gives the Houston oil refiner a value of up to $7.28billion. Citgo shares, whose sole asset is its refinery, are up for auction to pay $21.3 billion to Venezuela and the state oil company PDVSA in expropriations or debt defaults.

Citgo has refineries in Texas and Louisiana, a vast fuel storage network and pipelines, as well as 4,200 independent retailers. It has a net profit of $ 2 billion by 2023.

Amber's disclosure about the Citgo bid describes Goff having 40 years experience in energy and related businesses. The article does not mention Goff's tenure at Exxon, but it does list him as former CEO and chairman of Andeavor Oil Refinery and CEO Claire Technologies Inc.

He served as vice chairman of Marathon Petroleum from 1999 to 2019. Elliott made billions after he bought a stake in Marathon Petroleum and encouraged it to improve its operations and sell off parts of the business. 7-Eleven bought the Speedway retail fuel division from Marathon in 2021 for $21 billion. Reporting by Gary McWilliams, Editing by Chizu nomiyama

(source: Reuters)