Mishap at Limetree Bay Leads to Halt of Oil Refining; Three Top Executives Leave Company - Report

  • Ernice Gilbert
  • April 09, 2021
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Limetree Bay By. VI CONSORTIUM

ST. CROIX — Three executives, among them the finance chief, are leaving Limetree Bay, and a mishap at the facility has led to the halt of oil refining, said Reuters, citing an internal letter the publication reviewed.

Limetree Bay, whose goal was to refine 200,000 barrels of oil per day, spent in excess of $1 billion over its original budget to restart refining even as it fell behind on schedule. Refining started in earnest on February 1, Limetree said. The original plan was late 2019 or early 2020.

According to Reuters, citing an April 1 letter to employees, Limetree Chief Financial Officer Forgan McIntosh has resigned effective May 14. The company has been advertising an opening for the position on a career website, Reuters said.

The Reuters report says Senior Vice President of Refining, Bob Weldzius, and Vice President of Human Resources, Jodi Mitchell — both of whom joined Limetree Bay in January 2019 — are set to retire this month, according to the letter. 

And Neil Morgan, formerly senior vice president of downstream manufacturing at Canadian oil refiner Cenovus Energy Inc., will take over from Weldzius as refinery general manager, said Reuters, citing the letter.

The undisclosed operational issue that caused the halt of oil refining was the latest in a number of setbacks Limetree has faced. Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, said efforts were ongoing to restart refining by next week.

Reuters said shipping data shows that approximately 1,373,975 barrels of fuel — mainly high sulfur diesel, naphtha and jet fuel — were exported from the terminal in March, suggesting 44,300 barrels per day, which is a fraction of the 200,000 barrels-a-day goal Limetree has set for itself.

 

 

 

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