(Reuters) -Gold Reserve 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, 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.