HOUSTON, Texas: Citgo Petroleum, the Houston-based refiner owned by Venezuela, posted a net loss of US$82 million for the first quarter, a sharp reversal from the $410 million net income recorded in the same period last year, the company said this week.

Citgo's latest loss follows a $146 million deficit in the fourth quarter, as weak refining margins and ongoing legal battles over its assets continued to weigh on its financials.

"Despite the unfavorable pricing environment, we continued to focus on operational excellence and set a historic quarterly crude processing rate at the Lake Charles refinery," CEO Carlos Jorda said in a statement.

The company, the seventh-largest oil refiner in the U.S., processed an average of 833,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter, including 768,000 bpd of crude, resulting in a crude utilization rate of 95 percent, down from 98 percent in the previous quarter.

While utilization at the Lake Charles, Louisiana, refinery increased to 99 percent, the Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery saw a decline to 83 percent from 96 percent due to planned maintenance work, Citgo said.

Citgo's profit for 2024 fell to $305 million, well below the $2 billion profit in 2023, altering expectations among creditors and investors regarding potential recoveries from the court-ordered asset auction in Delaware.

Last month, the court set a starting bid of $3.7 billion for the auction, with a final sale hearing scheduled for July after rival bids are received and reviewed.

Marketing sales volumes in the first quarter decreased slightly to 423,000 barrels per day (bpd), while equipment and turnaround expenditures totaled $35 million.

Citgo's quarter-end liquidity fell to $2.1 billion from $3.8 billion in the previous quarter, a key metric for the ongoing asset sale.