Reliance Industries Ltd is headed for the Latin American country Guatemala for setting up a 3.6 lakh bpd green field refinery. The Gautemala government has selected RIL for the proposed $ 7.73 billion refinery project which includes an initial investment of $ 6.73 billion and a 1,000 mw power plant costing $1 billion, being a part of the project. The formal bidding for the refinery will start in September 2007.
RIL seeks guarantee from Gautemala government and foreign investors and also the local government. One major benefit for RIL through the project is the 1,000 mw power plant as Latin America is the biggest market of power. Big players like Chevron and Dow may enter for partnership for the proposed refinery.
The proposed refinery project is a project under Cancun Declaration and is part of the Mesoamerican Energy Integration Programme (MEIP).
Guatemala, South of Mexico, has 75 per cent of the total consumption in Mesoamerica. Besides, proximity with Mexico and Belize reduces the costs of transportation, and the oil pipeline between Mexico and Guatemala can be even extended to EI Salvador.