Has false hope been given to Sentral di Sindikatonan di Kòrsou, former employees of the isla refinery, and the population?
Or is everyone sticking their heads in the sand, and have we long known that refining in Curaçao is not possible?
To answer this question, I would like to take a step back first:
In 1918, Shell opened the refinery in Curaçao. However, I don’t think that this location was Shell's first choice. They would have much preferred to build a refinery at the source in Zulia, Venezuela. Shell was denied permission by dictator Gomez. Thus, Curaçao became the second choice. Shell already knew that owning a refinery that is neither at the oil source nor directly at the consumers would entail much higher costs and would not be competitive in the long term.
With low refining margins and high competition, it is not sustainable. Between 1954 and 1969, Shell tried to cut costs and reduced employment at the Isla in Curaçao by 75 percent. In 1985, Shell completely withdrew because it was not profitable (and would never be) to maintain a refinery in Curaçao. Shell wanted to dismantle the refinery. The country of Curaçao rebelled, and ultimately, Shell transferred the refinery “for nothing” to the country.
But what could the country do? The story remains the same.
The only solution for the country was to find an operator that had oil but lacked sufficient refining capacity. From 1985 to 2019, Venezuelan PdVSA drained the refinery by neglecting maintenance, disregarding all environmental standards, and being content with “no profit from refining” (but profit from selling oil from Venezuela).
The consequence was enormous pollution in the neighborhoods of Wishi and Marchena. Many people suffered physically, died prematurely, and faced significant issues due to the pollution. During this period, ALL other international refineries in the Caribbean closed. NOT A SINGLE refinery in the Caribbean intended for export can survive because transshipment is far too expensive, and a new refinery is always built near the consumers so that the end products can be delivered cheaply and directly to customers.
No one wants to invest in a refinery on an island.
Today, only a handful of very small refineries are still active in the Caribbean. They operate solely for the local market (and local corruption).
Environment
Aside from the point mentioned above, there are two additional reasons why the refinery in Curaçao will never reopen:
First is the environmental aspect. No one would even think of opening a refinery in the middle of a city. The mere thought is ridiculous. But aside from the environmental aspect, there is no longer a demand for the products that “our” refinery produced. One refinery is not the same as another; you can’t just change that. The Isla was designed to refine heavier crude (High API Gravity).
Factors such as TAN Count, Sweetness (high sulfur in our case), and API determine the product you make. The Isla is only suitable for producing tar and fuel oil. The end products contain high concentrations of harmful and now banned toxic substances. Therefore, there is absolutely no demand for these products.
The Isla is completely unsuitable for light & sweet oil. This is the type of oil that is ideal for producing the products we need today. The Isla is thus unsuitable for the products we require and cannot be “converted” or repurposed. That is technically impossible.
The conclusion is clear: there will never be another refinery in the Caribbean, and there will never be an active refinery in Curaçao again. Not even in Bullenbaai. It is a foolish dream; it is impossible.
Prime Minister Shows Up at the Isla Gate
What a Shame
It is a “shame,” read: incredibly foolish, that the government has already spent over fifty million guilders of “our” community funds to keep an impossible dream alive. It is even more foolish that they are still spending tens of thousands of guilders per day to maintain that impossible, nonsensical dream. Maintaining the current facilities is a waste of money. This costs the community millions every year and will never yield anything.
If Wendell Muelen (SSK vice-chairman) “regrets” that false hope has been raised among them and the population for three years (in my opinion, it has been much longer), then he should look in the mirror. Muelen knows very well that the Isla can never reopen. Gilmar Pisas (MFK) wants to be re-elected and therefore will not elaborate on the truth. Mr. Patrick Newton “earns” (or rather: receives) a very generous salary and will not jeopardize his position by speaking the truth, but all these gentlemen know exactly what the truth is.
In one thing, Muelen is correct: Continuing with Oryx is nonsensical. It is brave of Dean Rozier to admit that refining is impossible. The same would apply to Vortex CSI. The only real solution is to dissolve the RDK, clean up the site, and repurpose the areas in Schottegat and Bullenbaai. This would create opportunities and immediately provide jobs. Then we would be working towards a future with jobs for Curaçao.
How long will we keep throwing millions into a bottomless pit?
Johan Megesen
Chairman of Clean Air Everywhere
