PdV makes final push to retain Curacao assets

Venezuela's national oil company PdV is making a final push to retain a refinery and strategic oil terminal in Curacao before its operating lease expires in December.

In a last-minute visit yesterday, Venezuela's oil minister and PdV chief executive Manuel Quevedo met with Curacao's prime minister Eugene Rhuggenaath in the Dutch-controlled island's capital Willemstad, the prime minister's office confirmed.

The meeting between Rhuggenaath and Quevedo was held at the headquarters of the 335,000 b/d Isla refinery, where "various topics" were discussed, including "the interest of PDVSA to stay on as an operator after 2019," according to the prime minister's Facebook page.

"Mr. Quevedo indicated with certainty that PDVSA is doing everything in its power to guarantee the salaries of the Isla employees until the end of December," the Facebook posting said. "Minister President Rhuggenaath was very satisfied with the conversation and this conclusion."

RdK, Curacao's state-owned company that owns the refinery, did not comment except to confirm that no one from RdK attended yesterday's meeting.

A PdV spokesman declined to comment. An Isla spokesman could not be reached.

RdK is currently evaluating non-binding proposals received on 15 July to operate the refinery and terminal after PdV's lease expires in five months. The company has not identified the bidders. But the list could include PdV itself, island sources tell Argus.

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

PdV has operated the refinery and terminal since the mid-1980s. The assets are part of a broader network of PdV's nearshore logistics in the Dutch Caribbean, including Curacao's deepwater Bullen Bay, meant to facilitate the marketing of Venezuela's heavy crude.

In recent years, the refinery has been mostly idle because of a lack of crude feedstock, maintenance and utility services, threatening some 2,000 local jobs. Shipping and storage activity in the once-bustling terminal has dwindled because of US sanctions on PdV and a threat of seizure of PdV assets by creditors.

When it was operating, the refinery´s throughput was around 220,000 b/d.