Willemstad- Refineria di Korsou (RdK) has taken an important next step in the process to maintain the Oil Facilities in Curaçao operational.

RdK selected, based on the recommendation of its Project Management Organization (PMO), has selected the Klesch Group to exclusively negotiate a new agreement for the Oil Facilities. The Oil Facilities consist of the Refinery, the Bullenbay Terminal and the associated Utilities company.

The negotiations are set to take place during the next 3 months with the intention to reach final definitive agreements no later than November 2019.

The PMO recommendation was based on a thorough and transparent scrutiny process with well-defined criteria of which the participating parties were informed. The criteria were chosen to select the party that best serves the interest of a long-lasting future for the Curaçao Oil Facilities. With the selection of a preferred party with whom to enter into exclusive negotiations, the process to find a strategic partner has reached a very important and critical stage.

The Klesch Group is a privately owned international industrial commodities group with investments principally in the oil sector through Klesch Petroleum Holding Limited. The Klesch Group has a strong track record of acquiring large asset-intensive businesses in highly-regulated environments and has completed transactions with large international public companies.

The Klesch Group operates in four countries and has combined revenues of approximately US$3 billion. Their flagship asset is the Heide Refinery (a former Shell Refinery) in Northern Germany, with a processing capacity of approximately 92.000 barrels per day (4.5 million tonnes per year) of crude oil and a Nelson Complexity Index of 9.9. As the second largest employer in the region, the Heide Refinery constitutes an integral part of the local economy. The refinery is supported by trading, marketing, purchasing, finance and other corporate activities located predominantly in London, U.K. and Geneva, Switzerland.

Both RdK and Klesch Group count on the cooperation of all stakeholders and agree to work diligently towards a beneficial long term partnership.