WILLEMSTAD - Gary Klesch is currently on the island. He is accompanied by a delegation of ten men to undertake various preparatory work, including discussions with the trade unions representing the refinery workers. On a different note, it must be said that these union leaders came out of the meeting with a better attitude compared to when the Klesch agreement was announced.
Another positive note that came out of the meeting is that the Klesch Group could take over the operations of the refinery in April instead of June/July this year. Of course, this is welcomed by Refineria di Kòrsou (RdK), because this RdK / CRU would save a lot of salary costs.
Klesch has indicated "to be ready" to start the refinery and that he is currently running even faster than Curaçao can possibly handle. Curaçao must ensure that they are ready on time.
“Klesch will get crude oil for the refinery in particular from the United States, but also from other parts of the world,” said a source close to the negotiations.
“It depends on what there is more need for in a given period,” says the source, who says that Klesch will therefore work in a completely different way than the Venezuelan company PdVSA. The latter in fact produced first and then checked whether and how much was needed.
“Klesch turns it around and adjusts production to market demand. In this way, you can earn the highest possible margin on refined products.”
Another important point that came out of the meetings is that Klesch will in the first instance need all employees to restart the refinery and run it optimally.
“In a year and a half to two years, a major overhaul is needed that will generate a lot of work. This will require additional workforce, presumably even from the outside,” says the source, who also states that Gary Klesch indicated during the meetings that he is here to stay and not - as reports indicate - to turn around a company that is in poor conditions and later sell it for a better price.
The Klesch representatives that are on the island will stay here for the time being to continue their preparatory work.
