St. Croix ends refining operations after EPA order, continues as terminal

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) – The Limetree Bay oil refinery in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands has announced it will close indefinitely, citing "severe financial constraints" a month after the US Environmental Protection Agency ordered an emergency shutdown of the plant, calling it an "imminent and substantial endangerment" to public health on the island.

"Since the temporary suspension of its petroleum refining and processing operations on May 12, 2021, Limetree Bay has been working to obtain capital to assist in its restart efforts. Regrettably, the Company has been unable to secure the necessary funding," the company said in a statement.

The EPA, which has jurisdiction over the US Virgin Islands, issued the shutdown order in May after a series of incidents in which oil was released into the environment and sent sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide into the air, both of which cause respiratory illness.

The St. Croix refinery has a capacity of 176,00 barrels per day, way down from its heyday when it was among the largest plants in the world at 650,000 bpd capacity.

The plant was previously a joint-venture between US oil company Hess and Venezuela's PDVSA, but closed in 2012 due to continued poor margins.

The plant was acquired by private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners in 2016 with plans to restart the refinery, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Storage facilities at St. Croix are expected to continue operations.