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).
Driven by the demand for LP gas, super gasoline and diesel, fuel consumption in 2018 reached 3.386 million liters, 2% more than that recorded in 2017.
Data from the Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (Recope) detail that between 2017 and 2018 total fuel consumption in the Costa Rican market increased by 68 million liters, going from 3,318 million to 3,386 million liters.
The court's pronouncement that declared legal the strike of the state fuel refiner and distributor in Costa Rica "has not been competent and introduces us into a very dangerous legal insecurity for national investment and the attraction of foreign investment."
From the statement of the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica:
Fuels are critical and Costa Rica must be defended as well
Charges, taxes, high fuel prices and other costs at airport terminals can represent close to 30% of the value of air tickets in countries in the region.
Airlines that operate in the Latin American region face an uncompetitive market, since in 2018 these companies are projected to earn $2.95 per passenger, a figure much lower than the $15.67 estimated in North America or $7.58 in Europe, according to representatives of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Millions of dollars in losses to the business sector, fuel shortages and roadblocks are some of the consequences of the strike by public officials in the country.
Since the unions of public institutions started the strike on Monday, September 6, the situation has been getting worse, with no sign of an end any time soon.
Businessmen in the industrial sector are warning that "expanding the reach of the RECOPE and authorizing it to charge fuel rates is like giving them a blank check on which to write the numbers they want to spend."
Industriales gave reasons for their opposition to the draft Fuels Law, that are related to the law, cost, technical reasons and the country's competitiveness, in a note sent to the Environment Commission of the Legislative Assembly.
Between the first half of 2017 and the same period this year, the state oil company reported a 4% increase in sales.
According to the most recent data from the institution, from January to June of 2018 sales ascended to 1.737 million liters of fuel, which is 4.2% more than the 1.667 million liters reported in the same period in 2017.
A savings fund, housing loans, expenses for recreation and bonuses, scholarships for children, and restaurant services for employees of the state and the monopolist hydrocarbons distributor of Costa Rica, are financed through the prices paid by consumers, even by the poorest.
There is still no certainty as to when construction of the dock will resume, rather than being ready by the middle of this year, it will be delayed until at least January 2018.
Initial plans were that Recope's oil dock, which will allow larger vessels to dock, would be ready by the middle of this year, but it is now estimated that it could be completed in early January next year, due to problems that arose during the construction process, which is being run by the consortium ICA-MECO.
Financial problems of the Mexican company ICA, member of the consortium in charge of building the dock in Costa Rica, could be part of the reasons behind the stoppage of work on the project.
The proposed construction of an oil dock for Recope wasawarded to the consortium made up of MECO and the Mexican construction firm ICA, which since 2012 has been developing the works. The project is now 96% complete, and according to the president of Recope, Sara Salazar, the problem of non-payment, which may have led workers to stop construction, has now been resolved and work will resume in the coming days .
Eleven autonomous entities including companies such as Recope and Acueductos y Alcantarillados averaged a 32% increase in their advertising budgets in 2017.
In their budgets for 2017 at least eleven decentralized state enterprises have significantly increased the amount of resources allocated to advertising in 2017.In the case of the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope), Nacion.com reports that"... The increase is 30%." Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA), has budgeted to spend $760,000, higher than the $229,000 that was spent in 2016 in this category.
The union of private companies has submitted a constitutional challenge against the Collective Bargaining Agreement of the state run refinery Recope.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP):
Costa Ricans would have to pay for paid vacation days during national festivities, subsidies to buy glasses and scholarships for studying abroad, among other things.
Union of Chambers has challenged these benefits, to be paid for with public funds, for being irrational and disproportionate.
The Supreme Court has ordered the cost of giving bonuses to employees of the state run monopolistic distributor to be incorporated into fuel prices.
EDITORIAL
The resulting increase in fuel prices forces the country's economy to directly pay for the privileges enjoyed by some public officials, aggravating a situation in the private productive sector which must find new ways of staying competitive in a local context which is becoming increasingly adverse, with an unfavorable exchange rate for the export sector and rising production costs.
The funds raised in the local market will be used to finance the expansion works of the Port Terminal Petrolera del Atlantico and optimize the entity's storage capacity.
The securities auction will be held on June 14 through the National Stock Exchange, in the amount of 12.100.000.000 colones ($22.5 million) of bonds SerieA A6 belonging to Schedule A standardized bond issue.
Producers in Chiriqui intend to expand production, increase productivity, and build their own refinery.
An article on Laestrella.com.pa reports that "...Palm oil producers in the province of Chiriqui, grouped into different cooperatives operating in the district of Baru, are aiming to increase productivity and also have their own refinery, in order to be more competitive. "