Equinor has reached an agreement with Liwathon regarding the sale of the Equinor South Riding Point oil terminal on the island of Grand Bahama in the Bahamas for an undisclosed fee.
Equinor recalled that the company bought the terminal in 2009 to allow the company to trade oil coming mainly from North American markets. The facility was commissioned in 1973 and has a total storage capacity of 6.8 million barrels.
“Since we purchased the South Riding Point terminal in 2009, the flow of the oil market in North America has changed significantly for Equinor and the company has increasingly sold crude to other regions of the world. Consequently, we believe a new owner would be better positioned for the further development of the terminal,” says Alex Grant, Equinor’s senior vice president of crude oil, products and liquids.
“This transaction supports our strategy to focus and concentrate the portfolio around core areas and allows us to redeploy capital where we believe we have a stronger competitive advantage. Liwathon will now assume ownership and begin a process to restart regular operations from the South Riding Point terminal,” Grant said.
As part of the deal, Liwathon will assume the responsibilities of the South Riding Point employees. Equinor added in its statement that the transaction is approved by the Bahamian authorities.
Liwathon Group currently operates four facilities in Estonia with a storage capacity of over one million cubic meters. The company offers a wide range of services in the area of handling, transport and storage of liquid fuels sold worldwide.
Equinor further recalled that in September 2019, the South Riding Point terminal was in the direct path of Hurricane Dorian and suffered significant damage, including an oil spill affecting the terminal site and a forest area northeast of the terminal.
Since then, Equinor has carried out extensive clean-up operations in close collaboration with the Bahamian authorities. Cleanup operations outside the fence were concluded in March 2021, and extensive groundwater testing outside the terminal has shown no sign of hydrocarbon deposits, according to Equinor’s statement.
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