Julio Gavilan, an employee of Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, told Sputnik on Friday that PDVSA was not negotiating the sale of US-based oil refinery Citgo, a PDVSA subsidiary.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has previously accused the United States of attempting to "steal" Citgo. He has also voiced the belief that Venezuela would manage to prove the unlawfulness of the US move to impose sanctions on PDVSA and Citgo, and would also protect Citgo as the property of the Venezuelan people.
"The United States should understand that we are not engaged in negotiations on Citgo. This company is not being sold, and there is no way we will let someone steal it," Galivan said.
On Monday, the United States blocked all assets of PDVSA in its jurisdiction and imposed a ban on deals with the company.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that by blocking PDVSA's assets, the United States was taking care of this company in the interests of the people of Venezuela and also protecting its own market.
On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Citgo was weighing the possibility of declaring bankruptcy in order to protect its operations amid the Venezuelan political crisis.
A range of companies are seeking to gain compensation for Venezuela's 2008 nationalization of Crystallex gold mining operation in US courts. Citgo's assets may be sold to cover this compensation.
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