Venezuela's PDVSA to settle debt to Curacao's refinery with fuel supply
Venezuela's state-run Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. will supply fuel to Curacao's refinery to settle debts left by the oil company after ceasing operations at the Caribbean island's facility in 2019, local media reported on Tuesday.
Following the expiration of a contract that had allowed PDVSA for years to operate the 335,000-barrel-per-day refinery and neighboring oil facilities, millions of dollars in debts were identified in Curacao and Bonaire, where the company had managed the BOPEC oil terminal.
The refinery's owner, state company Refineria di Korsou's (RdK), sold remaining crude stocks to cover part of the overdue debts and pending salaries. But another portion of the debt had remained unpaid.
The governments of Curacao and the Netherlands, which oversees the island's foreign policy, for years have been in talks with Venezuela seeking payment. The temporary lifting of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela in October provided an opportunity for a settlement, after RdK in 2020 resorted to a New York court to enforce a $51 million payment from debt accumulated until that moment.
More recently, RdK also has tried to be part of a group of creditors seeking to participate in a U.S. court-organized auction of shares in one of Citgo Petroleum's parent companies, owned by Venezuela, which will see its first bidding round in January.
The settlement agreement could allow the resumption of relations between Venezuela, Curacao and Bonaire so PDVSA can resume operations to store oil and fuel at the Bullenbaai terminal in Curacao and at Bonaire's BOPEC terminal, as well as processing Venezuelan crude at Curacao's refinery, the Curacao Chronicle newspaper reported.
PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. RdK could not be reached for comment.
Curacao's refinery has remained idled since 2018. Several negotiations with firms in recent years have failed to secure a new operator.
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