Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

Costa Rican firm, CNPC sign contract for joint refinery

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-16 15:01

Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE) and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on Wednesday signed a supplement contract for the establishment of a joint venture to build an oil refinery.

Related readings: Oil giants speed up overseas expansion  Oil firmlooks to Ecuador  PetroChina approved to buy stake in Nippon Oil plant  China's oil majors mull bids for Iraq oil

RECOPE and the CNPC signed an agreement in late 2008 to form a joint venture, but the deal was not ratified by the Costa Rican Comptroller's Office, which said the joint venture would violate RECOPE's legal monopoly on oil refining and distribution.

RECOPE Executive President Jose Leon Desanti told Xinhua that with the supplement contract, it is clear there is no rupture on the monopoly of the state-owned giant and it also set the shares of both companies at the joint venture.

The supplement contract will be subject to the Comptroller's Office for further review.

With an investment of $1 billion, the new refinery will allow Costa Rica to increase its oil refining capacity from 18,000 to 60,000 barrels per day.

The project is the CNPC's first in Central America after the two countries forged diplomatic relations in 2007.