WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao has filed a claim of $ 162 million (more than 150 million euros) against the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. According to Curaçao, there are outstanding accounts, overdue maintenance and environmental damage at the PDVSA refinery on the island.

The island has meanwhile seized the oil storage terminal of PDVSA on Bonaire.

If Curaçao wins the case, the island wants to sell the storage tanks. As oil prices plummeted in the past month, demand for storage has increased.

Traders now want to buy the relatively cheap oil, store it and resell it later for a higher price.

Until last year, PDVSA ran the refinery, a major source of employment, on the island. Before that, there were already problems at the refinery due to Venezuela's financial problems.

A possible takeover of the location by the American company Klesch Group is likely to be delayed by the outbreak of the coronavirus, Curaçao further reports.