Authorities in the U.S. are ready to prohibit the transfer of actual control over the Citgo oil refining company to Russia’s Rosneft, The Wall Street Journal reported on September 1, 2017. According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House stands ready to block the transaction for Rosneft’s receiving control over Citgo, which is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state oil and gas company PDVSA. Moreover, some U.S. officials think that the report of Rosneft’s receiving a controlling stake in the company is likely to engender adverse legal consequences for Citgo.

Rosneft has received from the Venezuelan company a 49-percent stake of Citgo as a security instrument for a loan of USD1.5 billion issued in 2016. The Wall Street Journal said that the U.S. is concerned about a possible transition of Citgo oil refineries to Rosneft’s control. Citgo accounts for about five percent of all oil processing volumes in the U.S. The company has three oil refineries with capacities of 750,000 barrels of crude per day, a network of gas stations, as well as nine pipelines, and 48 terminals for oil storage.

In July 2017, Rosneft reportedly agreed to exchange the right for its put option in return for agreements to participate in the U.S. company’s oil and gas field development. The head of the U.S. company stated that Rosneft is not going to establish control over Citgo.

In April, U.S. congressmen addressed a letter to the Treasury Department, expressing fear that Venezuela’s default can lead to Citgo’s transition to Rosneft’s ownership, placing Russia in control of the sixth largest oil refinery in the U.S.

In August, unnamed sources suggested that after severing financial cooperation with China, Venezuela approached Russia for loans in exchange for Caracas’ granting Russian companies access to oilfields. According to Reuters, the Russian authorities and Rosneft have extended as much as USD17 billion worth of loans to Caracas.