Idled St. Croix Refinery to Restart, Produce Fuels by 2020
Owners of an idled oil refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, which was once one of the world's largest refineries, plan to invest $1.4 billion to refurbish and restart a portion of the plant, they said on Monday. ArcLight Capital Partners, a private equity firm that owns 80 percent of Limetree Bay Terminals LLC, expects the former Hovensa plant to be able to process 200,000 barrels per day of crude and deliver fuels to market by January 2020, officials told a news conference in St. Croix. The Boston-based company spent two years studying the market and developed "a refinery profile we see thriving in the current marketplace," said John Erhard, an ArcLight partner. The refinery would supply low-sulfur fuels under an International Maritime Organization mandate that begins in 2020.
Tankship Damaged in Nigeria Pirate Attack
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) notes pirate attacks off Nigeria, Indonesia & Mauritania in past week. A product tanker under way noticed three skiffs approaching it at high speed. A suspected mother vessel was observed on radar at a distance of around 1.2nm. As the skiffs closed, the duty officer raised alarm and non essential crew mustered in citadel. Vessel commenced evasive manoeuvres and headed towards a nearby oil terminal to seek assistance from naval guard vessels. A further two skiffs were noticed approaching the vessel and all skiffs fired towards the bridge and accommodation. A RPG was also fired but missed the vessel. The attack lasted fro nearly one hour before the skiffs broke off. Crew safe but vessel sustained damage due to the firing.
