The bill presented by the Executive Branch of Costa Rica to transform the state refinery Recope empowers the State to make alliances with private companies and "incursion into alternative chemical energy", but maintains the monopoly of fossil fuels.
On April 8, 2019, the Alvarado administration presented an initiative before the Legislative Assembly that seeks to transform the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope) into the Costa Rican Company of Alternative Fuels and Energies (Ecoena).
In October 2017 production limits and the "out of -quota" production concept will eliminate for the manufacture of biofuel and industrial non-food products.
The current production quota for sugar according to the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which applies to the 28 countries in the bloc, is 13.5 million tons per year.The production capacity of sugar producers in the European bloc is higher than the quota, therefore eliminating production limits will lead to a lowering of prices due to excess supply, similar to what has already happened in the milk market following the elimination of production quotas.
Price of gallon of regular gasoline: Panama $2.61, Guatemala $2.58, El Salvador $2.65, Honduras $3.20, Nicaragua $3.28, and Costa Rica, $3.93.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
Variations in international prices of refined products (gasoline and diesel) over the last few weeks have influenced prices in Central America, allowing El Salvador to be located in second position in terms of the lowest prices of gasoline and diesel Central America.
A cooperative and a private company are negotiating a $500 million finance deal to cultivate 120 hectares of coyol and install five oil processing plants to produce biofuel.
The plan was devised by the cooperative Coopeciagro RL, and according to its CEO, Luis Fernando Escalante, they already have identified 60,000 hectares in the north and another 60 thousand in Guanacaste."...The plan requires an estimated $500 million in financing, which will be raised from European pension and investment funds and the signing of which only depends on an initial guarantee $600,000, according those promoting the project."
In the last week the price of a metric ton of palm oil went from $560 to $710, due to increased demand for the product to be used as biofuel and the fall in production in Asia.
The rise in biofuels and the fall in production of palm oil in Asia, the world's leading supplier, has benefited the price of oil derived from these plantations worldwide, rising from $560 to $710 in the last week of March.
Palm producers claim to have sufficient inventory and are asking for exclusivity in the supply of raw material for the production of biofuels.
Industry representatives argue that they currently have a surplus of 130,000 tons of oil being exported in order to generate biofuel in other countries. The proposal submitted by the producers to lawmakers in the Special Standing Committee on the Environment aims to "...
Costa Rica's state oil company has announced an agreement with China to incorporate into the design of an oil refinery "production of biofuels and green fuels as a fundamental linchpin of operations".
EDITORIAL
Several years ago Costa Rica became embroiled in a serious problem after signing contracts with the Chinese government and Chinese companies for the financing and construction of an oil refinery.
SMEs in developing countries could generate jobs and significant growth by taking advantage of the market opportunities offered by clean technologies.
From a report by the World Bank:
SMEs in developing countries could generate significant growth and jobs if they take advantage of market opportunities that offer clean technologies, which reach up to $1.6 trillion.
Prices of a gallon of regular gas: $3.90 Panama, $4.00 El Salvador, $4.01 Guatemala, $4.56 Honduras, $4.71 Nicaragua, $5.22 Costa Rica.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
The Ministry of Finance announced this September 15th, the new changes in reference prices for fuel, which will be in force from 16 to September 29, 2014.
Price of a gallon of regular gas: Panama $3.91, Costa Rica $5.43, Nicaragua $4.89, Honduras $4.61, Guatemala $4.04, El Salvador $4.06.
From a press release issued by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador (Minec):
The Ministry of Finance announced on August 18, new variations in the reference prices for fuel, which will be in effect from 19 August until 1 September 2014.
Prices for a gallon of regular gas: $5.46 Costa Rica, $4.99 Nicaragua, $4.81 Honduras, $4.36 Guatemala, $4.24 El Salvador.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy in El Salvador:
The Ministry of Finance announced this July 21, new variations on the reference prices for fuel, which will be effective from 22 July to 4 August 2014.
During the month of July 2014, the price of WTI (West Texas Intermediate) in the Gulf Coast of the United States averaged a value of $92.58 per barrel, a decrease of -6.13% compared to the previous period. For its part, the international prices of petroleum products showed the following changes in the past few weeks:
The Government has launched a consultation process under the CAFTA-DR after the U.S. eliminated the dehydrated ethanol quota established in that trade agreement.
A press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads:
"The Government of Costa Rica today filed a request for consultations to the United States under the dispute settlement mechanism of the Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Central America and Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR).
The conversion to biofuel is feasible in agribusinesses who have their own waste production the raw material needed to generate it.
The return on investment calculation of $9 million in less than four years was a deciding factor in the Cooperativa Agroindustrial de Productores de Palma Aceitera (Coopeagropal) introducing a clean energy program.
"The biggest investment is the installation of a giant digester using German technology, in which the organic matter from the plant wastewater is processed."
The process of fixing prices, the tax structure and lack of investment in distribution are hindering the development of a market with great potential.
From a report by the Department of Agriculture of the United States:
Guatemala is the strongest potential biofuels producer in Central America given the high yields of sugarcane and palm oil and its efficient local industries.
Through its petroleum division Uno Costa Rica Terra Group bought seven service stations from the Costa Rican Grupo Colono.
Uno Costa Rica, the petroleum division of the Honduran Terra Group, has purchased seven services stations operated by the Costa Rican group Colono in Limon and Alajuela. The amount of the transaction has not been revealed.
This was confirmed by Uno from Honduras and "Victoria Velasquez, director of the Commission to Promote Competition, at the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), responsible for approving or denying transactions of mergers and acquisitions in the country."