The Dominican government announced Thursday that it bought 49% of the shares of the Dominican Petroleum Refinery (Refidomsa) from Venezuela for 88.1 million dollars, thus resuming full control of the company.
The Dominican Minister of Finance, José Manuel Vicente, said in a press conference that the transaction was carried out at an ‘advantageous’ price for the Dominican Republic.
State-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) acquired 49% of Refidomsa’s shares in 2010 when it paid the Dominican government US$131 million.
Vicente emphasized that before completing the purchase operation, the Dominican Government consulted with the United States to ensure that the transaction would not present any ‘inconveniences’ for the country, due to the fact that the US Administration maintains sanctions against the South American country.
‘We believe that the agreed (purchase) price has been advantageous for the Dominican Government, which reacquires the totality of Refidomsa’s shares and this will allow it to control the company’s expansion plans and strengthen it as a player in the hydrocarbons market’, said the official.
However, he clarified that the operation will not have any impact on the internal prices of fuels, as these are fixed on a weekly basis taking as a reference the international oil market.
