Curacao seeks Shell’s return to refinery
Kingston, 23 January (Argus) — The governments of Curacao and the Netherlands are discussing with Anglo-Dutch major Shell the possibility of its return to the management of the Caribbean island’s 350,000 b/d Isla oil refinery, Curacao government officials tell Argus.
Raffinaderij gezien vanaf de Joodse begraafplaats Beth Haim, Curaçao / foto © Aart G. Broek
Shell operated the refinery until 1985 when it transferred the asset to the island’s government after reporting heavy losses. The refinery was built by Shell and commissioned in 1918. Isla is currently operated by Venezuela’s struggling state-owned oil company PdV under a lease that expires at the end of 2019.
Discussions about Shell’s involvement in the operation of Isla have been taking place since November 2017, when the government said it doubted the ability of Chinese state-owned Guangdong Zhenrong Energy (GZE) to carry out a $5.5bn project to upgrade the refinery. Curacao prime minister Eugene Rhuggenaath “has said publicly that if Shell is still interested in the modernization of the refinery, and if the company appeared to be the best option, then it will be selected,” one official said.
Please, continue reading on the Argus website, January 23, 2018.
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