MOSCOW (MRC) -- Refineria di Korsou, owner of the 335,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Isla refinery on the Caribbean island of Curacao, is suing former operator Petroleos de Venezuela for USD51 million in New York State court, reported Reuters with reference to a filing dated Aug. 26.
Refineria di Korsou said PDVSA had failed to make monthly payments to RdK from early 2018 to December 2019 as required under the two companies’ contract. PDVSA’s deal to operate the refinery expired at the end of 2019, and RdK is currently seeking a new operator.
Neither PDVSA nor Venezuela’s oil ministry immediately responded to requests for comment.
The refinery was largely idled during the period in which PDVSA did not make the utility payments, as an economic crisis in Venezuela and collapse in PDVSA’s crude output led it to reduce the amount of crude it sent to the Isla refinery, RdK said in the filing.
The plant’s total production over the final 22 months of PDVSA’s lease was 235,000 barrels total, or less than a day’s worth of output at its nameplate capacity, RdK said.
RdK obtained a judgment in Curacao court in March ordering PDVSA to pay, and is suing in New York in an attempt to enforce that ruling.
As MRC informed before, Russian state oil company Rosneft's decision to cease operations in Venezuela and sell its assets there to a Russian government-owned company was a "maneuver" made in reaction to collapsing oil prices, a US State Department official said earlier this year.
We remind that Angarsk Polymers Plant, part of Russian oil giant Rosneft, shut down its low density polyethylene (LDPE) production for a scheduled turnaround on 22 June. The outage was scheduled to last for one month. The plant"s annual production capacity is about 75,000 tonnes.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, June estimated LDPE consumption in Russia grew to 55,260 tonnes from 45,490 tonnes a month earlier. Kazanorgsintez raised its PE output after a spring shutdown for a scheduled turnaround. Russia's estimated LDPE consumption rose to 291,270 tonnes in January-June 2020, up by 5% year on year. Russian producers raised their production, and LDPE imports also increased.
MRC