In the early part of last weekend, President Leonel Fernandez met with the head of the Shell Company in Santo Domingo, Rafael Maradiaga, and after reviewing just how to comply with the Petro-Caribe accords, the two men called the various obstacles in the program’s way “a misunderstanding.” Maradiaga’s visit followed the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Francisco Javier Garcia, accusations that the Shell Company was boycotting the start up of the Petro-Caribe accords. Shell is the government’s largest partner in the national refinery. In their statements to the press, both Fernandez and Maradiaga promised to keep the lines of communication open in order to achieve a correct implementation of the agreement. The Presidential Minister for Administration, Luis Manuel Bonetti, told reporters that after the talks, the refinery would go forward with the Petro-Caribe Accord which will provide favorable terms for 50,000 barrels of crude per day. This is a little under the 160,000 barrels a day the government says the country needs to import.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the Mexican ambassador, Isabel Barbara Tellez, said it “was very risky,” to say that her government had not fulfilled its commitments under the San Jose Agreement. Tellez pointed out that during the times when petroleum supplies from Venezuela were irregular or uncertain, Mexico supplied the Dominican Republic with crude oil. The ambassador suggested that the best way to disburse the accumulated funds generated under the San Jose Accords is through the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (BCIE) by means of development projects. The projects should be channeled through the President’s Minister for Technical Affairs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the early part of last weekend, President Leonel Fernandez met with the head of the Shell Company in Santo Domingo, Rafael Maradiaga, and after reviewing just how to comply with the Petro-Caribe accords, the two men called the various obstacles in the program’s way “a misunderstanding.” Maradiaga’s visit followed the Minister of Industry and … <\/p>\n