Bermudian-based Gold Reserve Ltd today confirmed that an American court has denied its attempt to block a rival bid in a long-running legal process surrounding the auction for Citgo, the American oil company owned by Venezuela.

On September 18, Judge Leonard Stark of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware rejected Gold Reserve’s motion to strike a filing from the court-appointed special master and approved the special master’s request to terminate Gold Reserve’s Dalinar Energy share purchase agreement. The judge also authorised the signing of Elliott’s Amber Energy SPA.

Judge Stark described his ruling as “entirely ministerial”, saying it was meant only to align the paperwork with the special master’s current recommendation. He stressed that he was not deciding “the merits of the ultimate question of what bid he would approve”.

The decision was delivered orally from the bench. Gold Reserve said it expects a written opinion and order to be issued shortly.