WILLEMSTAD - The government is resuming talks with two candidates to operate the nation’s 335,000-barrel-per-day Isla refinery after its preferred bidder withdrew from consideration, the RdK (Curaçao Refinery) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The government-owned refinery, which has operated under a contract with Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA that lasts through December, began a search for a PDVSA replacement last year after a dispute between the Venezuelan firm and U.S. oil producer ConocoPhillips kept the plant idled.

Selection of a new operator has been delayed by an ongoing investigation into corruption allegations relating to the evaluation process. In its statement, the refinery said that delay and a review of other opportunities led its preferred bidder to withdraw.

The RdK did not identify the preferred bidder in its statement, but Curaçao Chronicle is one of the first ones to disclose that it’s Motiva Enterprises, the U.S.-based arm of Saudi Aramco.

Officials at Motiva could not be immediately reached for comment.