WILLEMSTAD - The Pisas cabinet expects to conclude a contract with a new operator for the more than 100-year-old refinery by February next year. Prime Minister Gilmar 'Pik' Pisas (MFK) announced this during a televised interview.
Since the dissolution of the preliminary agreement with the local consortium CORC, the government has been looking for a new operator for the refinery. According to Pisas, there are more than thirty candidates. A four-member committee initiated the selection procedure.
This is already the fifth attempt by government company Refineria di Kòrsou (RdK) and the Country of Curaçao to find a solution for the refinery. At the end of 2019, the contract with the Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA expired. The refinery was already on its decline by then. Refining production was minimal due to the unrest in Venezuela and the American sanctions against the South American country. The economic contribution of the oil sector declined to about 3.5 percent in 2019.
According to Pisas, the continuation of the refinery will contribute to economic stability in terms of added value and employment.