HOUSTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A Delaware court is

inclined to deny a motion made last month by miner Gold Reserve ( GDRZF )

to disqualify a rival bid for the parent of

Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum from an affiliate of

hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, Judge Leonard Stark

said in a filing on Wednesday.

The court is set to begin the final sale hearing next week

in the court-organized auction of shares aimed to pay creditors

for past expropriations and debt defaults by Venezuela.

The hearing will follow the preliminary selection last

month of a $5.9 billion bid from Elliott's affiliate Amber

Energy as the best offer submitted in the auction so far. The

choice triggered objections from several parties and Gold

Reserve's ( GDRZF ) motion to strike.

A competing bid from Gold Reserve's ( GDRZF ) affiliate Dalinar

Energy was not recommended by the court officer overseeing the

auction, even after it was raised to $7.9 billion last month.

Gold Reserve ( GDRZF ), lawyers representing Venezuela and other

creditors have submitted objections to Amber's bid, saying an

included agreement to pay $2.1 billion to holders of a defaulted

Venezuelan bond would deprive some creditors in Delaware

of auction proceeds.

Parties to attend the hearing were encouraged "to focus

instead on the merits of the Amber Energy bid, the objections to

it and the Dalinar bid," the judge said in the filing.

In the 4-day hearing, to begin on Monday, creditors,

witnesses and experts will expose arguments supporting or

objecting to bids on the table. A second set of testimonies

could be presented in October, the court said.