HOVENSA Chatter Heating Up Again!

I'm not unconvinced the ABR deal was in our best interest.
That's not meant to start an argument but it seemed to allow Hess
to shed prior, present and future responsibility.

just read an article that was reposted to Face Book saying ARB has bought it. Does anyone know if that is true?
Saying will produce 300,000 barrels a day of US sweet crude.

How can it be true if no agreement has even been presented?

just read an article that was reposted to Face Book saying ARB has bought it. Does anyone know if that is true?
Saying will produce 300,000 barrels a day of US sweet crude.

That was an old article re-posted I believe.

Agreed, probably an article from December 2014. ABR set up a website http://abr.vi/ that stated an agreement in principle had been reached to purchase the refinery. There's been no update to the site since then. Deal obviously failed on that occasion, let's see what Mapp's announcement tomorrow brings, but there's been a suspicious lack of leaks from politicians who usually can't stop themselves from making pre-emptive announcements so I'm not holding my breath for major news.

I know Shell Oil has been in both Trinidad and Curacao for decades, refining the same Venezuelan crude that Hess once brought to St. Croix. Why would'nt they be intrested? My hopes are on ABR though.
Hopefully we all hear something credible soon.

"After his report, Mapp took questions from the media. He said he has “no knowledge of a deal” with Hovensa"

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2015/06/17/mapp-names-malone-climate-coordinator-addresses-trips-eb-5-progra

"After his report, Mapp took questions from the media. He said he has “no knowledge of a deal” with Hovensa"

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2015/06/17/mapp-names-malone-climate-coordinator-addresses-trips-eb-5-progra

Too bad that the media does not know the right questions to ask... 🙁

i had never been in favor of the ABR, it was ( seems to me ) being shoved down our throats without due diligence. they seemed to have wanted the deal to be signed without actually looking into the company.

scare tactics used on the bumper sticker told me all i needed to know

i had never been in favor of the ABR, it was ( seems to me ) being shoved down our throats without due diligence. they seemed to have wanted the deal to be signed without actually looking into the company.

scare tactics used on the bumper sticker told me all i needed to know

ABR had nothing to do with the 'scare tactics' of the bumper stickers. That was an outside party that had them designed, printed and distributed to protect their own interests.

Indeed...it was Pinnacle Services that commissioned the bumper stickers, not ABR.

Nonetheless, ABR and their partners will come forth when the time is right.

Patience.

We are nearing the end of the 2nd Quarter of the year. Hovensa had said it would declare bankruptcy then if a buyer had not appeared. Will that happen? If so, what then?

Maybe Mapp thinks DIsney is buying Hovensa - now there's a Mickey Mouse operation.

thank you for the clarification on the bumper stickers.

lol island hops

Where's Monarch? Weren't they suppose to be here this week?

Monarch is just a paid pest. Their goal is to disrupt the process.

They have no refining experience and they don't have the funding.

The second round of bidding ends soon and they haven't submitted a bid.
They also have not been in the refinery since it was closed in 2012.

What about the EPA permit? Who ever buys I heard has apply for a new one and that's not easy or likely given.

I would imagine that from the EPA's point of view, letting it rot into a pile of contaminated heavy metals and petro carbon left overs really isn't a very environmentally positive thing to do within a U.S. territory (America's Caribbean). Finding a buyer with the funding to fire it back up under EPA guidelines and rules has got to be the better option.

That was one of the great things about ABR's original deal, funds would have been set aside over the term of the contract to completely dismantle the whole facility and clean it up when they were done with it. Someday, decades, maybe a century down the line, our need for petroleum will be replaced by something else...then what?
As things are now, there isn't a single entity that can step in, or has any desire to step in, and spend the millions / billions to clean it up.

Take a drive down to the property and cruise along the fence. The place is immense, the refinery, the storage tanks, the port, the company housing, its all just sitting there. It really is a terribly sad sight.

Where are all the comments concerning NY State's refusal to hear the Hess Tax Case? Is it so airtight that they will win in the VI courts? Did Monarch turn into the "butterfly" and migrate? What about ABR? Will the VI government remove the hurdles and allow a sale?

The case will be re-file in VI District (Federal) Court.
Yes, they will easily win. The tax laws are clear. The VIIRB wants to disallow deductions that are clearly allowed under the tax code and these same deductions were accepted on all prior returns filed prior to the years in dispute. How much do you trust the VIIRB to be knowledgeable in tax laws? Do you trust them? Would you accept their findings if they audited you, and not dispute it? I didn't think so.

I won't comment on Monarch. We all know their goal.

And the VI cannot legally stop a sale. The $40 million dollar lien would slow it down, but if someone wanted to buy the facility then Hovensa would pay it off to release the lien and the sale can go through.

Clear?

Thanks for the comments cruzaniron! I do like clarity!