WILLEMSTAD - In an exclusive interview with Hubertus Grebe of the company GeoPetroleum, it became clear what exactly happened between this company and the state-owned company Curaçao Refinery (RdK) and the Prime Minister of Curaçao.
According to Mr. Grebe in several letters to Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath he expressed his interest in connecting the refinery and, especially, the Bullen Bay facilities, to the major LNG producer in the world Qatar. Mr. Grebe and his company have been doing business with Qatar for several years. He has shown Curaçao Chronicle several documents proving this. But his proposal was rejected by the RdK and he never received a reply from the Prime Minister.
Mr. Grebe indicated that his company is a customer and business partner of huge companies like Saudi Aramco, biggest oil company in the world, Qatargas, biggest gas (LNG) company in the world and AIV Aviation Industries of China, biggest aviation company in China. He also worked with companies from Saudi Arabia, Emirates and Kuwait. Mr. Grebe says that is if anyone wants to question this, they are only looking for a “bloody nose!”
Mr. Grebe explained that in the first 10 years after establishing GeoPetroleum in Frankfurt, Germany, his company drilled more than 600 oil and gas wells in the eastern United States. This took place mainly in West Virginia with the drilling company Allegheny Land and Mineral Company (ALAMCO) and they brought them to be listed on the American Stock Exchange. This company later emerged with Columbia Gas Transmission and Cheyenne Gas Co.
In 1980 GeoPetroleum, together with the Governor of West Virginia, John D. Rockefeller IV, invited 7 German journalists to his state to visit the drilling site operations and they were all highly impressed by the activities.
This means that GeoPetroleum is a force to be reckoned with. “GeoPetroleum’s reputation has been been questioned in 42 years since founding, except in Curaçao now, and it will never be questioned as long as I am the 100% owner and top manager in this company,” says Mr. Grebe emphatically.
His company was rejected without even receiving the opportunity to present himself and explain his plans. The Prime Minister again did not have even the decency to answer his questions. The RdK Director Marcelino Delannoy gave a false statement in the press saying that GeoPetroleum does not exist. And the press did not do their job either by giving Mr. Grebe the right to reply.
Mr. Grebe is still hopeful that one day Curaçao will get a government that understands these kinds of businesses and that could get on board with big companies like the ones in Qatar. “LNG is the fuel of the future. Cruise ships will soon be fueled by LNG, instead of bunker fuel. German cruise ship operator TUI (AIDA) has ordered 8 new cruise ships driven by LNG. And if Curaçao is not taking this one-time opportunity, other islands are on the jump to grab this chance,” says Mr. Grebe. This is also something he mentioned in his letter to the Prime Minister but again to no avail.
