FILLING UP: Aegean Marine trucks fill up with fuel at a docking facility.
CHRISTIANSTED — A Greek-headquartered group has inked an agreement with Freepoint Commodities subsidiary Caribbean Bunkers to cooperate on bunkee sales focused around the facility at Limetree Bay.
Under terms of the agreement, Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (Aegean Marine) of Piraeus, Greece will market bunker fuels and marine gasoil supplied by Freepoint to customers calling on the Limetree Bay facility.
The agreement calls for future expansion in the region that could lead to adding delivery capability through Aegean’s owned fleet.
“We are pleased to announce the launch of our new service center in St. Croix, which strengthens our existing presence in the Caribbean and represents another important step in our effort to broaden our global footprint in attractive markets,” Manolis Chochlakis, Aegean’s Regional Manager of the Americas, said. “The growth and activity level at Limetree Bay has been remarkable since the terminal was purchased in 2016.”
The site, formerly known as the HOVENSA facility, was bought for $190 million in November 2015 by LB Terminals. It has a 32 million barrel capacity, while the St Croix terminal has an operational capacity of around 15 million barrels. Freepoint Commodities began supplying bunkers via pipeline in November 2016.
“We believe working together with Freepoint, which is an equity partner in the Limetree Bay facility, provides us both with incentives to jointly grow our presence in the region,” Chocklakis said. “The Aegean and Freepoint teams are experienced groups that have worked well together in the past. They will ensure our customers in the Caribbean get first class service.”
Freepoint Commodities began supplying ships directly by pipeline in November 2016. The process is known as “ex-pipe” in the industry, or “from pipe.”
“Freepoint is excited about developing this business – we envision it will be a core strategy in our global oil platform,” he said. “The St. Croix Limetree Bay Facility has brought a lot of promise to the region and continues to grow at an impressive rate. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to develop a strong base of operations on the island and believe this new venture is a perfect complement to our existing business,’ said Rob Peck, Senior Managing Director, Global Oil. ‘We have worked with Aegean for a number of years and are privileged to be cooperating with a company that is so well-respected in the industry. We believe this agreement will be extremely beneficial to both companies as we expand and optimize our business in the Caribbean.”
The agreement begins in September and is expected to be fully operational contributing results during the fourth quarter of 2017.
Manolis Chochlakis, Aegean’s Regional Manager of the Americas