Honduras to Take Control of Foreign-Owned Oil Storage Terminals
Honduras will take temporary control of foreign-owned oil storage terminals as part of a government import program meant to drive down fuel prices, President Manuel Zelaya said late on Saturday.
Zelaya ordered the move after failing to reach a deal with big oil companies Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile , Research) and Chevron (CVX.N: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as local company DIPPSA, to rent the terminals.
“It is not a nationalization, it’s a temporary use of the storage tanks through a lease and payment of a reasonable price,” he said.
Honduras produces no crude of its own and no longer has a refinery. Its fuel market, like that of most Central American countries, is dominated by Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
The government program takes control of imports away from the small group of oil companies that operate service stations in the Central American nation. Those companies have opposed the new system, saying it is anti-competitive.
A congressional commission set up to study the new system has said it could save Honduras — one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere — about $66 million a year.
Zelaya, a logging magnate, said the decree will allow the government to go ahead with a deal reached in November with Conoco Phillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile , Research) to import at least 8.4 million barrels of gasoline and diesel a year.
Exxon Mobil and Chevron could not immediately be reached for comment.