Exclusive: PDVSA seeks bids for Citgo in potential $8-10 billion deal - sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA is seeking preliminary offers for its U.S. unit Citgo Petroleum by the end of September, a deal that could fetch up to $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Investment bank Lazard Ltd , which is running the sale process for Citgo on behalf of PDVSA, has sent offering materials to potential buyers, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is not public.

The assets up for sale have annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of around $1.5 billion, the people said.

Citgo's assets, the core of which are three refineries with combined capacity of 749,000 barrels per day (bpd), could fetch between $8 billion and $10 billion, the people added.

Bidders can put in offers for individual assets, which include refineries, terminals, storage and wholesale operations, they added.

Representatives for Lazard could not be immediately reached for comment, while PDVSA and Citgo did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)