WILLEMSTAD - The deal between the government-owned company Curaçao Refinery (RdK) and the Klesch Group to operate the refinery and Bullen Bay has been signed. This took place after the approval of the Supervisory Board and the government of Curaçao.

The agreement, a so-called transaction document is according to a mandate of the government given to the RdK. There are still no details on the content of the transaction document because the stake holders will be informed today. A detail that is known is that one of the requirements for the deal was for Klesch Group to invest in the modernization of the refinery. According to the Prime Minister of Curaçao, Klesch Group must invest to make sure that the refinery complies with environmental standards.

The unions representing the refinery employees must now start their negotiations with the Klesch Group for the collective employment agreement.

Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath did not want to comment on the amount that is involved in the sale of the refinery and Bullen Bay but says that it is in line with what these facilities are worth. He did say that the objective was the continuation of the oil refining process and also to guarantee jobs.

There is still no exact date for the take over by the new operator. The Prime Minister says that date depends on when the new operator complies with all demands, but the closing date is mid-2020.

Then the transfer to the Klesch Group takes place. From that moment on Klesch is responsible and the installations are started in phases based on a startup plan.

Today the government is meeting with all stakeholders and they are being informed about the agreement with Klesch. These stakeholders include the refinery unions.