Business View Caribbean, July/August 2018

12 13 USVI GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES $1.4 BILLION LANDMARK DEAL TO RESTART REFINERY IN ST. CROIX U .S.Virgin Islands Governor, Kenneth Mapp, has announced an agreement that would reopen one of the world’s largest refiner- ies, create hundreds of jobs in the terri- tory, and shore up the solvency of the Government Employees Retirement System (GERS). Mapp said the $1.4 billion agreement was be- tween the government of the U.S.Virgin Islands and ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC, the owners of what had been one of the largest oil refineries in the world,when it was shutdown in 2012.The massive deal includes reopening the refinery portion of the operation that,when restarted,will inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy, gener- ating new tax revenues. Under the agreement with ArcLight Capital, the owners of what is now called Limetree BayTermi- nals, the company will invest approximately $1.4 billion to refurbish the existing refinery located in St. Croix.Over the next 18 months, this will create more than 1,200 local construction jobs. Once refinery operations commence at the end of 2019, as many as 700 permanent jobs will be cre- ated.The new jobs will be in addition to the more than 750 jobs now at the terminal storage facility. The initial refining operations provide for the pro- cessing of approximately 200,000 barrels of crude oil feedstock per day. “This agreement is great news for the people of the Virgin Islands as we continue to grow and expand our economy,” said Mapp,who noted it is tremendous news for the‘big island,’which felt the full brunt of the shutdown of refining operations in 2012. He added that the capital investment will not only benefit St.Croix,since the revenues from the agree- ment will shore up the solvencyof GERS,but it will also help fund a new110-room,“upscale lifestyle”ho- tel,flagged by a major four-star brand on St.Thomas. Mapp has called the U.S.Virgin Islands Legislature into special session onWednesday, July 25, 2018, to