Revamped Cuban Refinery to Be Activated

Revamped Cuban Refinery to Be Activated
Associated Press 12.17.07, 10:48 PM ET
HAVANA -

A refurbished Soviet-era oil refinery passed a series of hydraulic tests
and will be activated Friday in time for a visit by Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez, whose government helped bankroll the improvements, Cuban
state media reported.

The Camilo Cienfuegos refinery will initially process 65,000 barrels of
crude oil a day, but its capacity is expected to steadily increase,
according to the island's official news agency. Its operation should
push Cuba's daily production over 100,000 barrels per day.

Improvements at the refinery, a Cuban-Venezuelan joint project first
announced in April 2006, have so far cost more than $136 million.

Chavez and other Latin American and Caribbean leaders plan to visit the
complex in Cuba's central Cienfuegos province later this week as part of
a regional petroleum summit.

Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, sends nearly 100,000
barrels of subsidized oil a day to Cuba, and in exchange receives
thousands of Cuban doctors who travel to treat poor patients in the
South American nation.

The refinery has largely stood idle since the Soviet Union collapsed,
ending billions of dollars in annual subsidies it once provided Cuba.
When fully operational, the refinery will employ 1,200 workers.

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, a close friend and ally of Chavez,
recently wrote that annual trade with Venezuela has reached $7 billion.

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