Ecopetrol takes refinery contractor to arbitration

摘要

Reficar, the refinery unit of Colombia’s state-controlled Ecopetrol, has filed for arbitration against multinational engineering firm CB&I over cost overruns at the company’s new Cartagena refinery (Reficar). CB&I did not respond to Argus’ request for comment. Ecopetrol is asking for at least $2bn to cover damages at the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce from over-budget construction of the 165,000 b/d refinery that replaced a 78,000 b/d facility. The original Reficar budget was set at $4bn and ballooned to over $8bn as of September 2015, just before the refinery’s early start-up in November.