Santo Domingo. – Treasury minister Vicente Bengoa yesterday revealed that Venezuela’s government will pay for the 49% stake in the Dominican Petroleum Refinery (Refidomsa) with the fuels it supplies the country through the Petrocaribe agreement.

He said the oil agreement stipulates that the Dominican Government remains with 40% of the total that the country must pay for fuel so far, but from November 20  to January it will retain 60% until completing the US$131 million it paid for the 49% stake sold to Venezuela’s state-owned conglomerate PDVSA.

After a meeting with president Leonel Fernandez in the National Palace, Bengoa said if the signature of the contract concludes on the 15th, the funds to pay for Refidomsa’s stake would already start arriving by November 23.

The official said the Petrocaribe agreement stipulates that if oil remains at its current cost of below 100 dollars, the Dominican government gets the fuels, processes them and resells them, to then send 60% to Venezuela and remains with 40%. “The agreement is that instead of financing us 40% at 25 years we also remain with 60% as payment for the shares, so that before the end of next January we’ll have received everything related to the sale of those shares through that mechanism.”