June 24 (Reuters) -

Gold Reserve ( GDRZF ) has filed an emergency request with a

court in Delaware asking for clarification about a

license

by the U.S. Treasury Department that last week extended its

protection over

Venezuela-owned U.S. refiner

Citgo Petroleum even amid a court-organized auction to pay

creditors, the company said on Tuesday.

The Delaware court has progressed to

complete the auction

of shares in Citgo's parent PDV Holding, aimed to

compensate up to 15 creditors for debt defaults and

expropriations in Venezuela. The bidding round's winner is

expected to be selected by July 2.

Canadian miner Gold Reserve ( GDRZF ), which is one of the creditors

taking part in the auction and also a bidder, is asking the

court to invite the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign

Assets Control to clarify and confirm whether it intends to

continue protecting Citgo from creditors beyond the expected

closing of the sales process, whose final hearing is scheduled

for mid-August.

Venezuelan opposition leaders have requested Washington to

suspend the auction, while the administration of Venezuela's

President Nicolas Maduro has criticized the process, saying it

constitutes the theft of a sovereign asset.