Cuba Venezuela to reopen oil refinery in Cienfuegos

Caracas, martes 11 de abril, 2006
Economía

Cuba, Venezuela to reopen oil refinery in Cienfuegos

Cuba and Venezuela have organized a joint venture to reopen the
Cienfuegos refinery, a Soviet-technology plant located in central south
Cuba, official newspaper Granma said on Tuesday.

The new corporation, named PDV-CUPET S.A., is to conduct "hydrocarbon
refining and product manufacture activities; procurement, storage,
processing, hydrocarbons and by-products downstream activities both in
Cuban and abroad," Granma said, as quoted by AFP.

PDV-CUPET S.A. is also to undertake "sea, fluvial and terrestrial
transportation of oil and by-products within the Cuban territory and
abroad, with ships of its own or chartered for such purposes."

"Based on the contributions made by the parties, the Cuban party holds a
51 percent stake, while the Venezuelan party has a 49 percent stake,"
said the official press report.

Cuban President Fidel Castro and the Venezuelan Energy and Petroleum
minister Rafael Ramírez initialed the agreement Monday afternoon.

Venezuela, Cuba's largest trade partner, is selling some 90,000 bpd of
oil to the island under an agreement with preferential terms.

The Cienfuegos refinery was completed in 1990 in cooperation with the
former Soviet Union. The plant operations were discontinued in
consideration of excessive fuel consumption at a time when Cuba faced a
serious economic crisis.

http://www.eluniversal.com/2006/04/11/en_eco_art_11A692757.shtml