MIAMI, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A Soviet-era oil refinery in Cuba is getting back online with the help of the communist island's close regional ally and petroleum benefactor, Venezuela.

Later this week Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is scheduled to arrive in Cuba for the grand reopening of the Camilo Cienfuegos refinery, a relic of the former Soviet Union's sway over Cuba until its demise in the late 1980s.

The refinery has been dormant since then, though with the help of Venezuela and some $136 million in repairs funded by Caracas, the plant is expected to go online Friday, according to Cuban state media.

The plant will reportedly be able to process some 65,000 barrels a day. Venezuela meanwhile sends about 100,000 bpd to Cuba as a discounted price, part of Chavez's Petrocaribe agreement for Caribbean nations.

Cuban officials have lauded the return of operations at Camilo Cienfuegos, though some speculate that the plant may still need more work before becoming fully operational because of its longtime dormancy.