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Companies balk at latest $4.1 million bill for legal

charges

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Judge rebukes Weil Gotshal, Evercore for handling of

auction

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No final bid recommendation after four extensions to

negotiate

By Gary McWilliams and Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Court advisers have billed

nearly $30 million for a stalled auction of shares in a parent

of Venezuela-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum, raising the ire

of creditors that have waited years to get compensation.

Citgo, the crown jewel of Venezuela's overseas assets, sits

at the center of a Delaware court auction in which 18 companies

seek to collect up to $21.3 billion for debt defaults and

expropriations in the South American country.

Bids in the auction's second round were submitted this year,

and the advisers, including an officer appointed by the court to

oversee the process, were to deliver a recommended winner in

July.

The advisers went on to negotiate exclusively with an

affiliate of investor Elliott Investment Management, which has

resulted in a bid opposed by many creditors as deficient.

Four creditors in a court filing challenged the advisers'

$4.1 million bill for September, saying fees "have increased by

a staggering amount" and were likely to go higher. The latest

bill is five-and-a-half times the fees for September 2023 and

includes costs for more than 70 law firm employees, with

individual charges up to $2,350 an hour.

Rusoro Mining ( RMLFF ), which has a pending $1.48 billion

claim in the case, also criticized the advisers' reworking of

one proposal, calling the result neither "a material improvement

or a helpful development."

U.S. Judge Leonard Stark last week rebuked law firm Weil,

Gotshal & Manges, investment banker Evercore and court official

Robert Pincus for not following his rules in their dealings with

Elliott affiliate Amber.

Representatives for Weil, Evercore, and Pincus did not reply

to requests for comment.

Stark proposed to redirect the auction, leave behind one of

the red lines set by Amber, provide bid details to the 18

companies and provide them a say in how proceeds are to be

distributed.

Amber has threatened to walk away if the auction proceeds as

Stark has indicated he wants it to go. An Amber spokesperson did

not have an immediate comment.

The revised process is expected to lead to at least two bids

once Citgo reopens access to its financial and operational data.

The winner could receive three U.S. oil refineries, energy

pipelines, distribution terminals, and fuel supply to 4,200

retail outlets.

Groups involved in the auction have repeatedly told Pincus

that he "should stop wasting time and money pursuing Elliott's

non-viable and inadequate bid," an attorney for Venezuela wrote

to the court.