The auction for the Limetree Bay Refinery located on the south shore of St Croix was won by Jamaica-based West Indies Petroleum (WIP) after a two-day bidding battle that ended with WIP’s $62 million bid for the facility.
The auction took place in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, and was presided over by Judge David Jones.
West Indies Petroleum will have until January 21 2022 to close the sale. If the firm is unable to do so, St Croix Energy becomes the default winner of the auction.
The outcome represents a striking turn of fortune for St Croix Energy, which on November 18 had won the bid for the refinery. However, Judge Jones approved a motion filed by Limetree Bay Refinery to reopen the auction.
At the time, Limetree Bay attorney Elizabeth Green explained to the judge that WIP, a firm which specialises in bunker services and oil storage, was originally part of the auction, but its chief executive had fallen ill and needed emergency attention in the days before the auction was set to take place and that prevented the company from proceeding at the time.
At the time of the motion to reopen, WIP was offering $30 million cash upfront, which was superior to St Croix Energy’s $20 million in cash upfront. St Croix Energy bid $57 million in cash, but the company was bested by WIP’s $62 million, at which point SCE dropped out.
For more information visit www.westindiespetroleum.com
