Owner of Curacao refinery sues Venezuela's PDVSA
Refineria di Korsou, owner of the 335,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Isla refinery on the Caribbean island of Curacao, is suing former operator Petroleos de Venezuela for $51 million in New York State court, a filing dated Aug. 26 shows.
Refineria di Korsou said PDVSA had failed to make monthly payments to RdK from early 2018 to December 2019 as required under the two companies’ contract. PDVSA’s deal to operate the refinery expired at the end of 2019, and RdK is currently seeking a new operator.
Neither PDVSA nor Venezuela’s oil ministry immediately responded to requests for comment.
The refinery was largely idled during the period in which PDVSA did not make the utility payments, as an economic crisis in Venezuela and collapse in PDVSA’s crude output led it to reduce the amount of crude it sent to the Isla refinery, RdK said in the filing.
The plant’s total production over the final 22 months of PDVSA’s lease was 235,000 barrels total, or less than a day’s worth of output at its nameplate capacity, RdK said.
RdK obtained a judgment in Curacao court in March ordering PDVSA to pay, and is suing in New York in an attempt to enforce that ruling.
Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler
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