SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The Dominican Republic is working out final terms of a long-discussed deal to sell nearly half the shares of the Caribbean nation’s refinery to oil-rich Venezuela, a top official said Tuesday.

Treasury Minister Vicente Bengoa said the sale of 49 per cent of Refineria Dominicana de Petroleo SA for US$131.5 million should become official April 19, when President Leonel Fernandez is expected to sign a contract with Venezuela’s state-run oil company.

Bengoa said the sale will allow the Dominican Republic to become an oil distribution center for the Caribbean and possibly Central America.

Bengoa said the agreement will be sent to the Dominican Congress for approval after it is signed in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

The refinery, on the outskirts of the Dominican capital, has been in operation since 1973 and produces 30,000 barrels of fuel a day. It was part-owned by Royal Dutch Shell until Fernandez’s government bought its stake in 2008 for $110 million.