August 14, 2007 (LPAC)---Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has outlined an ambitious project to build a "Refinery of the Americas," organized around the construction of what will be the largest oil refinery in South America, in Manabi, Ecuador. Speaking Aug. 9 in Quito with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Correa reported that when the Manabi refinery is finished, it will have a refining capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, and generate $2 billion in annual revenue. Construction of it will begin next year. But beyond the refinery itself, for which Venezuela is investing $5 billion, Correa outlined a bold plan to create a petrochemical complex at the same site "with the participation of all the Latin American state [energy] companies, which will be a port from which Latin American markets can export to Asia. "This, he said, "could be called the Refinery of the Americas." Both Presidents emphasized that the benefits of such a project would be such, that it would only take an estimated four years to recover the investment of $10 billion that would be needed to build the whole petrochemical complex.

President Correa pointed to the absurd situation Ecuador currently faces: it has oil, but has to export its crude oil to be refined elsewhere at a cost of $60 per barrel and then import petroleum derivatives at a cost of $80 per barrel, because it has no ability to process them in the country. With this kind of thinking, Correa gets a passing grade in American System of Political Economy 101. Venezuela's state oil company, PdVSA and Ecuador's PetroEcuador have formed a joint-venture to build the Manabi refinery, but say they are hopeful that other state companies will join the project.