Concerns mount over Citgo's future in face of Venezuelan crisis

Concerns are mounting in Texas and Washington about the state of Citgo Petroleum, its refineries and its 4,000 U.S. employees following the recent arrests of the company's top executives in Venezuela as the nation's political and economic crisis spills over to the Gulf Coast. Citgo, headquartered in Houston, is the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, and increasingly enmeshed in President Nicolas Maduro's efforts to consolidate power in the face of an economic collapse, shortages of basic goods and growing opposition. The arrests of the six Citgo executives, including its acting president, were followed by the installation of Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of the Maduro's mentor, the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, as the new Citgo president, as well as the appointment of a new oil minister, Major General Manuel Quevedo. More…