US Virgin Islands plans response to HOVENSA refinery closure

The HOVENSA oil refinery in St Croix

The US Virgin Islands has a plan to assist the thousands of people who will lose their jobs when the HOVENSA oil refinery, the largest in the Caribbean, closes.

It was announced that the plant would close on Jan. 18.

“Our worst nightmare is now a reality, and the serious implications for the Virgin Islands, especially the island of St Croix, is cause for grave concern,” said Labour Department Commissioner Albert Bryan, Jr this week.

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10 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    February 3, 2012

    Please dont vote for OBAMA

  2. Sout' Rebel
    January 31, 2012

    We are so small minded. Industries come and industries Go.Like anything else hess has outlived it’s purpose in St.croix.It’s no longer economical to continue.
    Don’t underestimate the power of the mind to re-invent st.Croix.That maybe a blessing in disguise! Common people don’t be so pessimistic.
    o

  3. LCM
    January 30, 2012

    Let this be a lesson to those island that base thier economy on only one product. I cannot stress the need for more economic diversity in the caribbean region. Nothing last forever and it is not wise to put all your eggs in one basket.

    Hope they recover soon

    • Rich
      January 31, 2012

      St.Croix will no doubt recover in time. It may be a long time, though.

      In the meantime, when they should be looking at ways to diversify and expand the economic base of the Virgin Islands, many of our Senators are just wallowing in self-pity and recriminations. They say that they are looking into legal action against Hovensa for the closure. What a joke! As though a government can force a company to remain in business losing millions of dollars a day just so your constituents can keep their over-paid jobs.

      If they can’t force Hovensa to keep losing money (they can’t) then our august representatives say they’re going to go ask the US Congress for a bailout. A bailout of what? A Territory full of people who don’t want to accept reality? Not likely! As I already said, the US is broke, too. The last place they’re going to dump money they don’t have is a few small islands a thousand miles from home, whose inhabitants don’t even have a vote in Congress. US politicians are just like politicians everywhere – all they care about is getting re-elected and keeping the money coming to their pockets. The Virgin Islands can’t help them get re-elected so we won’t get any money from them. It’s as simple as that.

      Unfortunately, this entitlement mindset is all too common in the entire Caribbean region. No one is owed anything in this life – you get out of it what you put into it. Sitting around waiting for some sugar daddy to come along and give you a handout is not only a waste of time, it’s a waste of human energy. More than that even, it’s a dehumanizing way of life, just another form of being a serf. Let’s get up off our butts and do something for ourselves!

      The Caribbean has a great climate, wonderful geography, lots of history and widely varied cultures. If we could just wake up and recognize the necessity of change, we could have a tourism gold mine. Instead, we have a horrible crime rate and government regulations that make it nearly impossible to build a business to reap the benefits of tourism. Talk about shooting ourselves in the foot!

  4. Rich
    January 30, 2012

    This is a joke of a news story – it says nothing of substance. Here’s a few facts from St. Croix:

    Hovensa is closing and there is nothing that the Virgin Islands government or anyone else can do about it. Yes, there will be a big spike in unemployment and no, the US government isn’t going to do anything about it. They’re broke, too. Times are tough all over, in case you hadn’t noticed.

    Hovensa has actually been a pretty well managed refinery, causing far less pollution than most of them do, though that hasn’t stopped people from complaining. Now they can complain about not having any money or jobs instead.

    There is, frankly, little to hope for in the way of a silver lining to this cloud. The refinery is not going to re-open, either under Hovensa management or some other entity. The economics of the situation simply make it unprofitable to operate the Hovensa refinery and that isn’t going to change. Environmental regulations would require an additional investment of $700 million to meet the new standards and they’re already losing that much every year.

    The Virgin Islands government and its people are just going to have to learn to get along without the revenues from Hovensa, and that is going to be a very painful process. I just hope we can do it with some dignity and peace.

    • forreal
      January 31, 2012

      and let me also add the government is in a process of layingoff over a thousand of its employees,so your right this is joke news,i dont see any light at the end of the tunnel in this case,this is dead on arrival.

  5. CIA on the watch
    January 30, 2012

    At least he could outline the so call plans to give the peoplr some hope, that was just a blank statement coming from him.

    • Eagle Eye
      January 30, 2012

      That is what politicians do best – empty words. They are just trying to pacify the public. They are not going to do anything substantive to alleviate the plight of the people.

  6. Anonymous
    January 30, 2012

    :oops: soo much people across the caribbean,& Us are losing jobs whats next….smh horrible ..with so much people out of work violence and crime will be at its highest!

  7. Lougaoo Mem
    January 30, 2012

    My concern is the long term health issues that will plague the islands’ residents for a very long time in the future. We are aware that what goes up, is what comes down. Everyone’s cistern gets water from the rain, and it is known that the refinery is the major contributor of the sulfur dioxide and other chemicals that contaminate the precipitation. Thank God! Dominica did not go for the so called gift from Papa Chavez.

    The Venezuala’s crude is one of the most sulfur loaded in the world, making it very expensive to refine petroleum products.
    It is unfortunate that the unemployment rate will get worst on St. Croix, during a period when the global economy is experiencing the worst since the depression. We hope that the territorial government will find pollution friendly industries to generate employment for the people.

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