Central American Refinery Tender Slated For November

The delayed tender offer for the $6.5 billion mega-refinery for Central America is to be launched in November, according to a statement by Guatemalan leader Oscar Berger. The site of the mega-project, part of the Mesoamerican Energy Initiative, is to be decided by the investors, but will likely be in Guatemala or Panama. The project aims to help Central American economies reduce their energy costs. Mexico, which is due to supply around two-thirds of the crude to the refinery via its state-run oil company Pemex, will benefit from the extra refining capacity and cheaper gasoline on its doorstep. Investors who have already expressed an interest in the project include oil companies such as Petrobras, Chevron-Texaco, Conoco-Phillips, Occidental Petroleum, Shell and British Petroleum and investment banks Deutsche Bank, Scotia Capital, Banamex-Citigroup and Mitsubishi.