ST THOMAS, USVI — US Virgin Islands Governor John de Jongh on Tuesday made available to the public the report and analysis prepared by Duff & Phelps on the possible future uses of the now closed HOVENSA refinery on St Croix.
“Today’s release of the Duff & Phelps report follows my providing the report to the owners of HOVENSA, the members of the 29th Legislature and the Congressional Delegate,” de Jongh said.
The governor said that the releasing of the report to the public is part of the ongoing effort to keep the US Virgin Islands’ community up to date on the steps being taken by the deJongh administration to navigate the impact of the closing of the HOVENSA refinery.
“Our industry expert, Duff & Phelps, conducted a comprehensive analysis of the HOVENSA refinery operations as well as their proposal to convert the site to an oil storage facility,” de Jongh said.
The study concluded that the “highest and best use” of the HOVENSA facility is as an oil refinery and that such a refinery would be profitable if certain upgrades were made,” he added.
A week ago, de Jongh addressed the territory via radio and television to tell all US Virgin Islanders that his administration had responded to HOVENSA’s proposal and presented the owners of HOVENSA with a choice of compromises that would permit the reopening of the refinery either by HOVENSA, or under new ownership.
The full Duff & Phelps report is available on the governor’s website at www.governordejongh.com/hovensa
