July 3 (Reuters) - A court officer overseeing the

auction for PDV Holdings, the parent of Venezuela-owned U.S.

refiner Citgo Petroleum, has recommended Gold Reserve's ( GDRZF )

subsidiary Dalinar Energy's $7.38 billion bid, Gold Reserve ( GDRZF ) said

in a statement on Thursday.

A group led by commodities trading house Vitol had submitted

a bid exceeding $10 billion for Citgo's parent during the final

hours of the U.S. court-organized auction, two sources with

knowledge of the offer told Reuters on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank

Dhaniwala)