WILLEMSTAD–Motiva Enterprises is the preliminarily pick by the government of Curaçao to operate the 335,000-barrel-per-day Isla refinery, replacing “Petroleos de Venezuela” PDVSA.
The island’s refinery has been idle since May when a legal dispute between PDVSA and US producer ConocoPhillips enforced in the Dutch Caribbean courts prompted its partial closure. The neighbouring country’s state-run oil firm’s contract to lease the facility, which is crucial for its storage, refining and shipping operations, will expire at the end of 2019.
The local government is seeking a company willing to handle it in the long run and probably also to finish the lease term next year. Motiva, based in Houston, was chosen by Curaçao from a list of interested firms as the “preferred bidder” to run Isla from 2020 or possibly before, if a separate agreement is reached.
Motiva is an American subsidiary of Saudi energy giant Aramco and a regular buyer of Venezuelan crude. Isla holding “Refineria di Kòrsou” and government confirmed in a press release that a company was chosen but said they would not disclose the name until a final agreement is signed.
However, according to several reliable sources “close to the negotiations” cited by Curaçao Chronicle, Motiva Enterprises is the party eyed to take over from PDVSA. A memorandum of understanding between the chosen operator and the government is expected to be signed in mid-January.
Marcelino de Lannoy, who is temporarily replacing the holding’s managing director Roderick Van Kwartel amid accusations of corruption linked to the bidding process, also said PDVSA has agreed to cooperate in any transition. The holding’s Curaçao Refinery Utilities (CRU) that provides water, steam, air pressure and electricity to Isla is expected to resume supply this month to prepare the refinery for its restart.
Earlier this year Motiva said it was weighing an expansion of its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery. But in June that plan was scrapped over what sources said were worries about concentrating too much production in a single, hurricane-prone location.
Instead, Motiva was “actively exploring a number of opportunities and locations” to boost its North American refining capacity to as much as 1.5 million barrels per day, a Motiva spokeswoman had said.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83756-saudis-choice-to-run-isla-refinery
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