Curacao mulls refinery proposals ahead of PdV exit

The government of the Dutch-controlled island of Curacao is weighing non-binding proposals to operate its 335,000 b/d Isla refinery and oil terminal that are currently leased by Venezuela´s state-owned PdV.

The state-owned refinery owner RdK did not disclose the number of proposals it received by yesterday´s deadline.

In an overview of the process, the company said it signed non-disclosure agreements with 12 companies. Ten visited a virtual data room and two carried out site visits.

Curacao plans to sign letters of intent in August, select a potential partner by October and sign a contract by November.

PdV´s long-term lease expires in December. In recent years, the refinery has been mostly shut down on a lack of feedstock, utility services and maintenance, reflecting PdV´s declining production and investment capacity.

Curacao is hoping a new operator will revive the plant´s operations which are critical to the local economy.

When it was operating, the Isla refinery´s throughput was around 220,000 b/d. The associated deepwater Bullen Bay terminal had been a bustling storage and transhipment site until PdV pulled back in recent years in the face of growing debt-related cargo and tanker seizures.

PdV has previously expressed interest in retaining access to Bullen Bay, but the terminal is part of the new lease that Curacao plans to sign by November.