WILLEMSTAD -In the weekly program of the extra-parliamentary party PS, Whiteman revealed that a Chinese-Brazilian consortium has not been granted permission to participate in the accelerated headhunting process. 

The consortium is said to consist of Chinese and Brazilian state-owned companies. The Boards of Supervision do not have confidence in the Curaçao trajectory. Whiteman stated that the supervisors do not believe that the headhunting process will be fair, independent, and transparent. The consortium was supposed to submit a bid last Friday. 

It is not known where Whiteman obtained his information. State-owned company Refineria di Kòrsou (RdK), the owner of the petroleum facilities in Curaçao, has not responded to the former prime minister's statements. Under Whiteman, the Chinese company Guangdong Zhenrong Energy (GZE) was selected in 2016 to take over the over a century-old refinery. The deal was revoked under the Rhuggenaath cabinet. The Hague saw no merit in the arrival of the Chinese state-owned company for geopolitical reasons. Later, GZE proved unable to pay its bills. 

Since 2013, RdK has been searching for a serious successor to PdVSA. The contract with the Venezuelan state company expired at the end of 2019. Despite multiple heads of agreements being signed, a reliable partner has never been found. 

With the latest serious candidate, RdK subsidiary CRU is embroiled in a legal dispute. Today, the verdict in summary proceedings regarding the debt of Caribbean Petroleum Refinery (CPR) to Curaçao Refinery Utilities (CRU) for the rent of tank storage at Bullenbaai will be announced. This debt has now reached almost 17 million guilders.