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St. Croix

Plans to Reopen St. Croix’s Limetree Refinery Have Analysts Surprised and Residents Concerned

Twice bankrupt, the oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands has a troubled environmental past and a shaky financial outlook, analysts say. Still, two bidders want to restart it.

By Kristoffer Tigue

The St. Croix neighborhood of Clifton Hill overlooks a quieted Limetree Bay Refinery on Tuesday, May 25 after a stack fire and massive oil flare caused a 60-day shutdown ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Clifton Hill residents, many of whom migrated to St. Croix from nearby Vieques, are no strangers to the refinery’s discharges under its previous owner, Hovensa. But the most recent shower of oil on their homes, cars, gardens and cisterns was the second in little over three months as the beleaguered 60-year-old refinery struggled to resume operations after an eight-year hiatus. Credit: Patricia Borns
The twin towers of the coker at the sprawling Limetree Bay refinery in St. Croix. Since February when the refinery restarted after an eight-year hiatus, problems with the coker and other processing units have created massive amounts of pressure inside the refinery, causing flares of oil and toxic emissions that have sickened downwind neighbors within seven miles. Credit: Patricia Borns

As Harsh Financial Realities Emerge, St. Croix’s Limetree Bay Refinery Could Be Facing Bankruptcy

By Kristoffer Tigue

Donald Trump’s Parting Gift to the People of St. Croix: The Reopening of One of America’s Largest Oil Refineries

By Kristoffer Tigue

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