After changing the projected refining model, which will raise the total cost to $1.391 million, consulting firm Worley Parsons has confirmed the project's profitability.
Ombudsmen from the government of Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope), said the report on the positive performance of the project is encouraging, but there is still a lack of evidence for determining the final decision-making to address it.
Weaknesses have been pointed out in the project to build a refinery in Costa Rica in partnership with China, such as the lack of studies on the benefits that it will bring in the economic field.
In an article in Elfinancierocr.com by Juan Antonio Rodriguez the author reveals a differences of opinion on the concept of "prefeasibility", with the Minister Rene Castro, head of MINAET, Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica.
The National Assembly has approved a $ 6.5 billion project that includes a refinery and an interoceanic pipeline.
Investors are assumed to be the government of Venezuela "and other partners" in a project that has no definite dates for implementation and which aims to supply 40% of the consumption of refined fuels from the Central region.
According to an article in Prensa.com.ni, "the complex, called ‘The supreme dream of Bolívar’ - will be run by the private enterprise Albanisa, in which Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has a 51% shareholding and state Petróleos de Nicaragua (Petronic) has 49%, indicates the Law. The work will be built in the coastal area of Miramar in the municipality of Nagarote, in the department of León, 90 km northwest of the capital, according to the recently approved bill. "
Given the failure of the initiatives launched in 2008, the Ministry of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica is studying new ways of incorporating biofuels into the energy mix.
One of the main problems for the successful implementation of the National Biofuels Program, was the failure to have sufficient local supply of ethanol. No one was able to attract the attention of Costa Rican producers of alcohol.
Six years after having started the program to incorporate it into the energy matrix, the percentage of ethanol in gasoline has fallen by 4.6% in 2006 to 1.4 in 2011.
One of the main problems faced by the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE) for the successful implementation of the National Biofuels Program, is that they do not have a local supplier of ethanol.
The consultant Worley Parsons points out the modifications to the processing units and production capacity, that would make the project profitable.
The modifications suggested by the consultant, changes in the processing units and increasing daily production to 65,000 barrels would generate increased profitability and improved product quality. These changes constitute additional investment of $100 million.
The state-owned China Development Bank Corporation will be in charge of structuring the financing of $1.2 billion for the new oil refinery in Costa Rica.
Confirmation of the commitment by the Chinese state was made by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of China, Zhang Gaoli, who met on Sunday with the Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla in San Jose, to sign an agreement.
CAMC Engineering, from Mainland China, is the counterpart of a $233 million contract to build the basic storage infrastructure and the pipeline network.
The Chinese group CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. (CAMCE) signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture with Alba de Nicaragua SA (Albanisa) – a Venezuelan oil importing company, to build the first phase of a refinery in Nicaragua, which will be called " El Supremo Sueño de Bolívar” (The Supreme Dream of Bolivar).
The two energy-related state enterprises are looking at replacing bunker fuel and diesel power generation plants and power used in public transport and freight, with natural gas.
The state run Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope) and the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), are awaiting the results of a study contracted with a Canadian company that will define the economic and technical feasibility of using natural gas as a substitute for diesel or bunker fuel.
Costa Rica is awaiting the release of a report on the expected profitability of the proposed new Moin refinery, which needs to be 16% or more, in order to gain the support of China's state oil company.
In order to form a joint venture, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) asked its Costa Rican partner Recope for the minimum return of 16%.
At an estimated cost of $16.3 million the Costa Rican Oil Refinery is putting out to tender the construction of tanks for storing bunker fuel and asphalt.
Included in the works are:
For the asphalt storage tanks:
-Dismantling of a 1590 cubic meter (10,000 barrels) tank and two tanks measuring 200 cubic meters (1,258 barrels) and associated piping, and transfer of materials to the collection center.
The green light has been given to a contract between the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope) and the ICA-MECO consortium for the works which will cost $97 million.
The Controller General of the Republic (CGR) has endorsed a contract between the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope) and the consortium ICA-MECO, a case which has been pending since 1998.
The works represent an investment of $96.6 million.
The Costa Rican Oil Refinery company (Recope) has awarded the construction of four areas to store LPG and related works to the Spanish company Felguera IHI.
A press release by Recope states that:
“The company IHI Felguera SA (Spanish) will be responsible for building the four areas and their related works, on the project called System and Storage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (SAGAS in Spanish) after having been awarded the works.
The U.S. company plans to build a refinery for $600 million in Acajutla which will process up to 40 thousand barrels of oil.
Petrogolfo, a U.S. company in the energy sector, plans to relocate a center in Texas and open a $600 million refinery that will process from 30 thousand to 40 thousand barrels of oil a day, and has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mayor of the City of Acajutla, El Salvador.
In the short term, the Costa Rican Oil Refinery will put out to tender the construction works, valued at $1.8 million.
A press release by RECOPE reads:
RECOPE plans to build modern data center campus in El Alto
The Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE SA) plans to build a data center on the campus of El Alto de Ochomogo, with the latest technology and under strict international standards, which will be used as an alternative central data processing company, and will ensure the operations of the Sales and Distribution Management (GDV), while serving as an implementer and promoter of technology for process automation projects.