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Derwick is a company of integral services that offers solutions ranging from the simple supply of equipment for energy plants to the installation of power plants. |
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{{Orphan|date=November 2012}} |
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Derwick has a wide range of capabilities that include: engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning, as well as operation and maintenance. |
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'''Derwick Associates''' is a firm a primarily [[Venezuela|Venezuelan]] company that “provides engineering, procurement and power-plant construction services". During an energy crisis in Venezuela in 2009-2010, Derwick won several extremely lucrative contracts to construct and provide supplies for a number of [[Power Station|power plants]] in that country and has been the subject of scrutiny.<ref name=HeraldTribune>{{cite web |url=http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=589023&CategoryId=13303 |title=VenEconomía: ¿Prendieron un Ventilador? |author=Por los Editores de VenEconomía |date= |publisher=Latin American Herald Tribune |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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In this way, Derwick is responding effectively to the worldwide demand increase of energy by supplying highly reliable and efficient energetic solutions; always giving special consideration to its social and ecological impact. |
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==Corporate History== |
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Derwick has a wide experience and has worked in local and international projects, putting the following technologies and services at the disposal of his clients, to satisfy their needs. |
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Derwick is currently registered in [[Panama]], [[Barbados]], [[Venezuela]], and [[Spain]] under slightly different names, and has also been registered in the U.S. In Panama, Derwick was registered on April 7, 2003. In Barbados, where it was registered on May 27, 2009, the company is identified as Derwick Associates Corporation. In Venezuela, where it was registered on October 28, 2009, it is called Derwick Associates de Venezuela SA. In Spain, where according to various accounts it was incorporated on either January 13 or January 25, 2011, it is called Derwick Associates International SRL.<ref name=Soberania>{{cite web |url=http://www.soberania.org/Articulos/articulo_6696.htm |title=Cable pelao en la electricidad |author=César Batiz |date= August 7, 2011 |publisher=Soberania |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref><ref name=UltimasNoticias>{{cite web |url=http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/compras-con-sobreprecio-en-la-emergencia-elect--1-.aspx |title=Compras con sobreprecio en la emergencia eléctrica |author=César Batiz |date=September 26, 2011 |publisher=Ultimas Noticias |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> In the U.S., it was registered on December 2, 2010, under the name Derwick Associates USA LLC.<ref name=Law>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202574639157 |title=Defamation Suit Seeks $300 Million in Damages From Venezuelan Bankers |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref><ref name=UltimasNoticias/> |
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Services |
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As well as being a company in plain growth, Derwick has a wide base of experience and knowledge gained through years of practice in several projects. |
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In a lawsuit filed in 2012, Derwick directors maintained that the firm was founded in 2007.<ref name=Law/> |
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Derwick has participated in multiple projects assuming manager roles and responsibilities that, among others, include: |
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==Directors== |
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• Economic evaluations. |
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• Costs calculation. |
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• Engineer (civil, mechanical and electric). |
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• Logistics. |
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• Procurement. |
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• Construction. |
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• Security and environment protection. |
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• Installation and startup and commissioning. |
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• Operation and maintenance, ranging from periodic maintenance to the full capacity of making general revisions and |
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reconstructions. |
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• Control and remote monitoring systems. |
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According to one report by César Batiz for [[Últimas Noticias]] in Venezuela, the following individuals are listed as directors of the firm: [[Pedro Trebbau López]], [[Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López]], [[Gonzalo X. Guzman López]], [[Edgar Romero Lazo]], and [[Iker Candida]]. A separate part of the same report by Últimas Noticias lists Domingo X. Guzman De Frutos López, not Gonzalo X. Guzman López, as a director of the Barbados firm.<ref name=Soberania/><ref name=UltimasNoticias/> Betancourt, Trebbau, and Hernández are the officers of the United States-based firm.<ref name=UltimasNoticiasDos>{{cite web |url=http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/movil/detallenota.aspx?idNota=109363 |title=Ipys premia serie "Trampas Eléctricas" de ÚN |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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• Post-sale technical support. |
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• Strategic storage of spare parts for the support contracts in operation and maintenance. |
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==Venezuelan power station scandal== |
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• EPC, dedicated to provide solutions and installation services for simple cycle and combined cycle units and projects, as well as coal, wind and solar energy projects |
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Although neither Derwick nor any of its directors had any previous experience in constructing or supplying materials for power plants, the firm was awarded 12 contracts for such installations in Venezuela during a 2009-2010 energy crisis in that country. Four contracts were awarded by [[Electricidad de Caracas]] (which in December 2011 became part of [[Corpoelec]]), five by [[Petróleos de Venezuela]] SA (PDVSA, with the contract negotiated by Bariven, a division of PDVSA), and one by the [[Corporación Venezolana de Guayana|Venezuelan Guayana Corporation]] (CVG).<ref name=ElevenZolanoNews>{{cite web |url=http://www.elvenezolanonews.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=6679:guillermo-%C3%A1lvarez-con-la-verdad-por-delante&Itemid=116 |title=Con la verdad por delante |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref><ref name=Law/> |
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On February 20, 2010, Bariven awarded contracts amounting to more than $760 million for power plants to Derwick and two other intermediaries: KCYT Cumaná, a consortium of three firms which is registered in Venezuela, Barbados, and the British Virgin Islands, and Ovarb, whose headquarters are located in Houston, Texas. Of that sum, the contracts awarded to Derwick amounted to $209 million. All three firms were awarded contracts, even though Bariven had not followed standard procedures involving company audits and inspections and despite a standard practice of dealing with suppliers directly rather than through intermediaries. Also, the $760 million sum included surcharges of over $403 million, of which just under $87 million were surcharges paid to Derwick. There also appeared to be cases of multiple billing by Derwick for the same parts.<ref name=UltimasNoticias/> |
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Moreover, at the time of the contracts, Derwick, like the other two intermediaries, was not a legally recognized commercial representative of [[General Electric]] (GE), [[Rolls Royce]], or [[Pratt & Whitney]], the companies responsible for the actual manufacture of the plants that Derwick and the other intermediaries sold to Bariven.<ref name=SoberaniaDos>{{cite web |url=http://www.soberania.org/Articulos/articulo_6691.htm |title=Bariven compró con sobreprecio |author=César Batiz |date=September 18, 2011 |publisher=Soberania |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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In five of the contracts, Derwick was said to have failed to meet completion dates.<ref name=ElUniversal>{{cite web |url=http://www.eluniversal.com/2011/08/14/mesa-de-unidad-exige-investigar-plan-de-inversiones-electricas.shtml |title=Mesa de unidad exige investigar plan de inversiones electricas |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> In September 2011, it was reported that the plants that Derwick had contracted to supply to PDVSA had yet to provide a single megawatt of electricity.<ref name=SobiernaTres>{{cite web |url=http://www.soberania.org/Articulos/articulo_6706.htm |title=Bariven adquirió equipos eléctricos |
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con $403,7 millones de sobreprecio |author=César Batiz |date=September 27, 2011 |publisher=Soberania |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> In November 2011, it was reported that two of the plants that Derwick had contracted to supply to Corpoelec were not only uncompleted, but abandoned.<ref name=ElUniversalDos>{{cite web |url=http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/111102/plantas-electricas-en-sidor-se-encuentran-abandonadas |title=Plantas eléctricas en Sidor se encuentran abandonadas |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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Derwick also contracted to supply a power plant for [[Sidor]], Venezuela's largest steel corporation, for over $700 million, which included a surcharge of $280 million. Although the plant was supposed to begin operation in May 2010, construction had not yet gotten underway as of August 2012. Technicians close to the project said that it “consists of reconstructed turbines and used equipment.”<ref name=EntornoInteligente>{{cite web |url=http://www.entornointeligente.com/articulo/1299466/Desmentido-a-la-informacion-de-Reporte-Caso-Leopoldo-Alejandro-Betancourt-Lopez-Los-chavechicos-10082012 |title=Desmentido a la información de Reporte: Caso Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López //Los chavechicos
. |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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Derwick Associates' official address in Spain is on calle Príncipe de Vergara in Madrid. When a journalist working for Venezuela's Ultimas Noticias presented herself at that address in 2011, she spoke over the intercom with a man who had a Venezuelan accent and who, in answer to her question, told her that the building was not the headquarters of Derwick but was his residence.<ref name=Soberania/> Derwick's first address in Venezuela, according to official records, was suite 202 on the second floor of the Pyramid Building in Prados del Este. As of August 2011, the office was empty. Although the owner of the property is Edgard Romero Nava, father of Derwick director Edgar Romero Lazo, Romero Nava denied that he had rented the space to Derwick and said he was unaware that his son was a director of Derwick.<ref name=Soberania/> |
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According to prosecutors, former Venezuelan government minister Rodolfo Sanz, currently president of CVG, made a phone call from Derwick's office in the Pyramid Building in which he arranged a deposit of $500 million in the Gazprom Bank of Lebanon.<ref name=UltimasNoticiasDos/> |
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In November 2011, Derwick was accused of not paying workers.<ref name=UltimasNoticasCuatro>{{cite web |url=http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/ciudad/parroquias/obreros-paralizan-planta-termoelectrica-en-el-tuy.aspx |title=Obreros paralizan planta termoeléctrica en el Tuy |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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It was reported in August 2012 that Derwick Associates had paid $24 million for El Alamin, a 1,600-acre hunting estate in Toledo, Spain, for the personal use of Betancourt Lopez.<ref name=EntornoInteligente/> |
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==Donations== |
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In January 2012, Derwick donated funds for the construction of a football field in Sucre.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://globovision.com/articulo/ocariz-entrega-quinta-cancha-de-futbol-de-grama-artificial-en-sucre |title=Ocariz entrega quinta cancha de futbol de grama artificial en sucre |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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==Legal activity== |
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César Batiz sued the Venezuelan Minister of Minerals and Petroleum in March 2012 for information about Derwick.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tsj.gov.ve/decisiones/spa/Abril/00384-25412-2012-2012-0372.html |title=El tribunal supremo de justicia |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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On September 13, 2012, Derwick Associates Corp. and its co-founders, Leopoldo Betancourt López and Pedro Trebbau López, filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, charging that it had suffered severe damage to its reputation as a result of actions by the Caracas-based bank [[Banco Venezolano de Crédito|Venezolano de Credito SA Banco Universal]], by the bank's president and chairman, Oscar García Mendoza, and by Rafael Alfonzo Hernandez, a member of the bank's board. The suit, according to one account, “alleged defamation of Derwick, Betancourt and Trebbau; tortious interference with contract and with business relationships; deceptive and unfair trade practices; and civil conspiracy. The company is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions as well as monetary damages.”<ref name=Law/> |
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The amount of damages specified in the lawsuit was $300 million.<ref name=Analitica>{{cite web |url=http://www.analitica.com/va/economia/opinion/3752001.asp |title=Derwick Associates demanda a Banco Venezolano de Crédito y a Oscar García Mendoza |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> The premise of the lawsuit was that García Mendoza and Alfonzo Hernandez were connected with the anonymous Spanish-language website www.wikianticorrupcion.org, which had accused Derwick of criminal corruption.<ref name=ElMundo>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/banca/demandan-al-banco-venezolano-de-credito-y-a-su-pre.aspx |title=Demandan al Banco Venezolano de Crédito y a su presidente |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> Betancourt López said: “This legal action is not against freedom of expression, but against the practice of anonymous defamation. We have been the object of a campaign based on absolutely false charges.”<ref name=Analitica/> García Mendoza denied that he, the bank, or Alfonzo Hernandez had done any of the things they were charged with.<ref name=ElMundoDos>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/banca/oscar-garcia-mendoza---tomaremos-las-acciones-que-.aspx |title=Oscar García Mendoza: “Tomaremos las acciones que sean necesarias” |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref><ref name=ElMundoTres>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/banca/perfil---el-banquero-que-no--negocia-con-la-revolu.aspx |title=PERFIL: El banquero que no negocia con la revolución |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{Uncategorized|date=November 2012}} |
Revision as of 05:03, 28 November 2012
Derwick is a company of integral services that offers solutions ranging from the simple supply of equipment for energy plants to the installation of power plants. Derwick has a wide range of capabilities that include: engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning, as well as operation and maintenance.
In this way, Derwick is responding effectively to the worldwide demand increase of energy by supplying highly reliable and efficient energetic solutions; always giving special consideration to its social and ecological impact.
Derwick has a wide experience and has worked in local and international projects, putting the following technologies and services at the disposal of his clients, to satisfy their needs. Services
As well as being a company in plain growth, Derwick has a wide base of experience and knowledge gained through years of practice in several projects.
Derwick has participated in multiple projects assuming manager roles and responsibilities that, among others, include: • Economic evaluations. • Costs calculation. • Engineer (civil, mechanical and electric). • Logistics. • Procurement. • Construction. • Security and environment protection. • Installation and startup and commissioning. • Operation and maintenance, ranging from periodic maintenance to the full capacity of making general revisions and reconstructions.
• Control and remote monitoring systems. • Post-sale technical support. • Strategic storage of spare parts for the support contracts in operation and maintenance. • EPC, dedicated to provide solutions and installation services for simple cycle and combined cycle units and projects, as well as coal, wind and solar energy projects