WILLEMSTAD – State-owned company 2Bays, formerly Refineria di Kòrsou (RdK), has seized oil products belonging to Vigor after the company accumulated a payment debt of ten million guilders. The seizure marks the clearest sign yet of a rapidly deteriorating relationship between Curaçao and its designated refinery operator.
Despite earlier assurances in Parliament by Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas that Vigor had been meeting its obligations, documents and internal reports now confirm the opposite: Vigor has made no payments on Curaçao since June.
Union leader Alcides Cova has repeatedly warned that contractors working at and around the refinery are suffering severe financial stress due to unpaid invoices. Several companies report mounting losses and growing uncertainty as payments remain outstanding. While government officials remain publicly silent, concerns behind the scenes are escalating.
Emerging questions about Vigor’s shareholders further complicate the situation. According to newspaper Èxtra, Vigor owner Ghanim Saad recently sold 50 percent of his shares to Indian businessman Ravi C., a figure who was previously convicted of criminal offenses in the oil sector. The development is raising red flags about Curaçao’s vetting process for strategic investors, particularly in nationally sensitive industries like energy.
The company’s expansion plans were already hindered by international sanctions on Venezuela. Vigor had envisioned extensive cooperation with Venezuelan partners, but global sanctions have blocked nearly all avenues for such trade. As a result, Vigor never developed activities in Venezuela and reportedly failed to meet obligations there as well.
Curaçao’s refinery sector continues to struggle with deep-rooted internal and external pressures. Internally, decades of instability have left the industry vulnerable: a lack of financially solid operators, chronic debts to utilities and contractors, delayed payments, frequent political changes, and the absence of a long-term industrial strategy. Externally, international sanctions on Venezuela, global divestment from fossil fuels, diminished bank financing for oil projects, and growing competition from modern refineries in the region have significantly weakened the economic foundation for any refinery restart.
As 2Bays enforces its rights through asset seizure, the future of Curaçao’s oil industry appears more uncertain than ever, with contractors, workers and policymakers urgently awaiting clarity on the island’s next steps.