Curacao Oil Refinery Set to Restart Work

seattlepi.nwsource.com Wednesday, January 15, 2003 · Last updated 4:13 p.m. PT By ORLANDO CUALES ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao -- Curacao's oil refinery, one of the world's largest, will restart its main plant this weekend and gradually resume processing crude, company officials said Wednesday.

Curacao's Refineria Isla, which receives most of its oil from Venezuela, shut down its 37 refining plants last month when Venezuela's general strike halted oil shipments to the Dutch Caribbean island.

The refinery will restart its main plant Saturday and production at other plants through next week, a decision made after Venezuela pledged to resume some oil shipments, general manager Norbert Chaclin said. He offered no further details.

By Jan. 25, the refinery should be processing 150,000 barrels of crude a day to supply gasoline and other petroleum products to markets in the Netherlands Antilles and Venezuela, officials said. At full capacity, the refinery can process up to 335,000 barrels a day.

"We do not foresee the availability of enough crude to start supplying international clients," Chaclin said. "We will monitor and see how the situation develops regarding supply of crude oil."

Oil lubricants production remains on hold, but could resume if international clients show demand, he said.

During the refinery's shutdown, it provided markets in Bonaire and Curacao with gasoline from about two months worth of stocks. The two Dutch islands are located just off the coast of Venezuela.

Curacao's refinery, which employs more than 1,000 full-time workers, is owned by Curacao's government but is operated by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., Venezuela's state-owned oil company.

Venezuela's opposition leaders called a general strike to press President Hugo Chavez to step down or call a referendum on his rule. The strike, now six weeks old, has prevented many oil tankers in Venezuela from leaving the port.

Once the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, Venezuela has spent $105 million to import more than 2 million barrels of gasoline since a strike began Dec. 2. It's the first time Venezuela has imported gasoline in almost a century.