NewsWhore
01-27-2010, 05:10 PM
When Jose Luis Corripio Estrada (Pepin) speaks, a lot of people listen. One of the DR's most dynamic and influential businessmen, he is recommending that instead of selling off 49% of shares in the Dominican Refinery (Refidomsa), the government should expand the facility, unless another refinery is built in some other place, as has been suggested. Corripio mentioned that there was talk of installing a refinery in the north of the country, but he said that, unfortunately, many projects just stay in the newspapers. Industrialist Jose Armando Bermudez (Popy) is known to have proposed this for the area west of Luperon.
Corripio believes that the refinery should be modernized in some way and that if the government did not want to do it, then some sort of joint venture between the private sector and the public sector could achieve this.
He said that private capital could, if the government so decided, take on the 49% share that the government wanted to sell to Venezuela, as long as the state is not prejudiced in the sale. He said that the aim is to modernize the refinery and expand its capacity to supply the demand. He said: "If local capital decides to buy 49% of the shares in the refinery, the state should not be prejudiced at all."
Local business groups had expressed an interest in participating in a tender, but the government chose to do the deal with Venezuela.
Venezuela's Energy Minister Ramirez recently announced that his country would not go ahead with the deal to purchase 49% participation in Refidomsa. Writing in Hoy today, economist Bernardo Vega says that Venezuela had advanced US$37 million to the Dominican government so it could buy the Shell Company's shares in the Refinery. This debt is now up in the air. Vega explains: "Chavez's decision to revoke his interest in participating in the Refinery makes evident what was suspected: that his aid is conditioned to politics".
Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa says that contrary to reports, the US$131.5 million Venezuela would have paid for the refinery had not been included in the National Budget.
http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Venezuela_Puts_Breaks... (http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Venezuela_Puts_Breaks_on_Dominican_Republic_Refinery_Deal/6a3dc0151.aspx)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
Corripio believes that the refinery should be modernized in some way and that if the government did not want to do it, then some sort of joint venture between the private sector and the public sector could achieve this.
He said that private capital could, if the government so decided, take on the 49% share that the government wanted to sell to Venezuela, as long as the state is not prejudiced in the sale. He said that the aim is to modernize the refinery and expand its capacity to supply the demand. He said: "If local capital decides to buy 49% of the shares in the refinery, the state should not be prejudiced at all."
Local business groups had expressed an interest in participating in a tender, but the government chose to do the deal with Venezuela.
Venezuela's Energy Minister Ramirez recently announced that his country would not go ahead with the deal to purchase 49% participation in Refidomsa. Writing in Hoy today, economist Bernardo Vega says that Venezuela had advanced US$37 million to the Dominican government so it could buy the Shell Company's shares in the Refinery. This debt is now up in the air. Vega explains: "Chavez's decision to revoke his interest in participating in the Refinery makes evident what was suspected: that his aid is conditioned to politics".
Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa says that contrary to reports, the US$131.5 million Venezuela would have paid for the refinery had not been included in the National Budget.
http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Venezuela_Puts_Breaks... (http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Venezuela_Puts_Breaks_on_Dominican_Republic_Refinery_Deal/6a3dc0151.aspx)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)