WILLEMSTAD - MAN party leader Giselle Mc William is calling for clarity on the recent issues surrounding the refinery and related deals after Prime Minister Gilmar 'Pik' Pisas (MFK) announced that the PdVSA deal, finalized at the end of 2023, has collapsed.
According to Pisas, the Venezuelan minister who had signed the agreement to repay the state oil company's debts to Curaçao with crude oil has been removed from his position. "As a result, Curaçao is back to square one, without money or oil from Venezuela," Pisas said during a recent radio interview.
Mc William has accused both Pisas and Patrick Newton, the director of the state-owned company Refineria di Kòrsou, of being responsible for the failure of this crucial agreement. The need to restart the process raises significant concerns about the future of the deal.
In her statement, Mc William expressed astonishment at the situation: "It's incredible that after the fiasco with PdVSA, where Curaçao lost 600 million dollars, we are now being told that nothing will come from Venezuela." She is questioning who signed the agreement, what the documents specified, and what steps will be taken now that PdVSA has failed to meet its obligation to deliver 450 million dollars worth of oil.
The original deal had stipulated that PdVSA would provide 450 million dollars worth of oil over the next decade. Additionally, the oil company was supposed to use oil to settle 21 million dollars in debts owed to former employees, retirees, widows, and orphans.
Mc William views this situation as yet another failure of the Pisas cabinet, following previous setbacks with the Curaçao Petroleum Refinery and anticipated issues with Oryx Midstream.