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Dominican Today, Dominican Republic: Government accuses Shell of boycotting Petrocaribe: Posted Saturday 8 October 2005

The petroleum refinery's shell game continues

SANTO DOMINGO.- Industry Commerce minister Francisco Javier Garcia today accused the Shell oil company of placing obstacles so that Dominican Republic cannot comply with the requirement, established in the Petrocaribe treaty with Venezuela, which benefits the country in the purchase of 50,000 barrels of oil daily.

Garcia, citing statistics which reveal that Shell has reduced its purchases from Venezuela since the start of the Energy Agreement of Caracas, an initiative which preceded Petrocaribe, said he does not know why the multination oil firm tries to keep the country from buying 50,000 oil barrels from Venezuela daily.

The official also revealed that in a meeting with Shell’s top executives last Saturday, previous to his trip last Monday to Caracas to formalize the Petrocaribe accord, they expressed their intention to adhere to that requirement.

 "I met with them Saturday in the morning and they requested of me to give them a chance until the afternoon to formulate a proposal to me. I told them that if their proposal was to still buy one gallon of fuel less than the 50,000, to then not even call me, because it made no sense to travel to Venezuela," he said.

Garcia made his statements in the televised program El DIa, with Huchi Lora and Ramon Núñez Ramirez.

He said that Shell increased its oil purchases from Mexico, which he consider senseless because that country, in the case of the Dominican Republic has refused to comply with the agreement in the San Jose Agreement.

 "I do not understand how a preference in the purchase is given to Mexico, which has not complied the Agreement of San jOse, in detriment of Venezuela, which is giving us a treatment that nobody in the world us will give us," he said.

He added that president Leonel Fernandez, in the 1996-2000 period, tried to get Mexico to adhere to the San Jose accord, and that "president Hipólito Mejía in 2000-2004 period also did the same, and now in the 2004-2008 period, doctor Fernandez insists and with Mexico nothing has been obtained."

This latest barrage of charges comes in the aftermath of a heated debate between Dominican Petroleum Refinery president Aristides Fernandez Zucco and Fernandez’s top adviser on the relations with Hugo Chavez, Miguel Mejia, with Venezuela’s ambassador Francisco Landis accusing Fernandez Zucco of “placing obstacles” against Petrocaribe.

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Written by Juan Suero, Ph.D
Yamasa, DR, 9:20 PM
Shell has to stop the monopoly; other than that people will take the law into their own hands and the Shell stations -all over the island -can pay (with destruction) for this evil, capitalist, action.

The Dominican people are very capable of violence if this situation is no controlled. Keep testing them and you will see fire all over the place.
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