WILLEMSTAD - It will be clear next week, or possibly sooner which group will be selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of the Isla refinery. Refineria do Kòrsou (RdK) director Patrick Newton says the headhunting process could be completed soon. The government can then issue formal approval and negotiations begin.
Patrick does not want to say more, despite the fact that the name 'Socap Corporation' is being mentioned most often.
The 100-year-old Isla has been standing still for 28 months and previous attempts to find a strategic partner or a new owner have not yielded the desired results. A protocol has been drawn up at the start of the search for a new candidate.
The protocol outlines the rules and procedures that the committee, but also the government and RdK must adhere to when 'headhunting' a new preferred candidate in connection with the takeover of the petroleum facilities and installations.
This states, among other things, that a preferred bidder must demonstrate that it has sufficient crude oil and investment capital. That was not the case with the Chinese Guangdon Zhenrong (GZE), the German Klesch Group, Motiva/Aramco and Curacao Oil Refinery Complex (CORC), a Curaçao company.
After RdK broke the exclusivity agreement with CORC on behalf of the Pisas government, Essar/Nayara Energy was also briefly in the picture. This group from India has been and is invariably associated with the Russian state oil company Rosneft, which has a major stake in Essar. Even more than before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is a no-go for most of the world.
Luis Giusti, former president of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, recently confirmed that he has made a bid on behalf of a business group to operate the Isla refinery. The Venezuelan Aldea Group, led by Luis Gallegos and Luis Alba, is also said to be interested. Aldea declined to comment, but recently said it was "still taking part".
Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas has repeatedly promised that a new operator will come soon.