Limetree Bay Refinery Now Belongs to West Indies Petroleum

The Limetree Bay Refinery now belongs to West Indies Petroleum and its partner, Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation LLP, after the companies made the final $11.4 million of the $62 million sale price of the auction-sold south shore facility.

Late Friday, Limetree Bay Refinery filed for and was granted a motion to extend the sale of the refinery from Friday, Jan. 21 to Monday, Jan. 24, telling the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, which has jurisdiction over the sale proceedings, that West Indies Petroleum, which had paid a substantial amount of the $62 million closing cost on Friday, wired the remaining amount but the funds as of late Friday hadn't arrived.

West Indies Petroleum had funded $50,599,895 of the $62 million purchase price of the refinery, and Limetree Bay Refinery said the additional $11,480,720 was sent via wire transfer and was in transit. According to court documents, Limetree Bay Refinery told the bankruptcy court that it was in receipt of the federal reference number and SWIFT code for the funds in transit, and confirmed that the funds totaled more than the remaining $11,480,720 balance of the purchase price of $62 million.

Limetree Bay Refinery further stated that West Indies Petroleum anticipated that the funds would have been received by or before Friday, "however, due to delays with the international wire transfer, [Limetree Bay Refinery] had yet to receive the funds in transit, according to the emergency filing.

As of Tuesday, the transaction was completed after Limetree Bay received the remaining $11.4 million, according to court documents.

In a release issued January 7, WIPL CEO Charles Chambers said, "No doubt we are committed to and confident about successfully closing out the sale and moving towards maximizing the potential benefits that this refinery may have on improving not just local or regional but also global energy security." The Jamaica-based firm said it sees the purchase of the refinery as a "major strategic investment," as it worked to quell concerns that it didn't have the financial wherewithal needed to sustain the behemoth facility on the south shore of St. Croix.