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OIL REFINERY TO BEGIN EXPANSION WITHIN DAYS: FINANCING APPROVED FOR HOVENSA COKER PROJECT ON ST. CROIX
by VIBusiness Staff
HOVENSA L.L.C. ("HOVENSA") announced today that it had reached agreement for $600 million in financing underwritten by Bank of America for the construction of a 58,000 barrel per day delayed coking unit and related facilities at its refinery and to repay existing bank debt. The financing includes a $450 million term loan facility and a $150 million reducing revolving credit facility.
Engineering for the coker and the procurement of equipment with long delivery time have been ongoing since late last year. Construction of the coker is expected to begin in the second quarter of this year. The target date for completion of the project is the second quarter of 2002. Betchel Corporation will be the primary contractor for constructing the coker under a fixed price turnkey contract.
HOVENSA President and Chief Operating Officer Rene L. Sagebien expressed his appreciation to Governor Charles W. Turnbull and Lieutenant Governor Gerard Luz James II for their assistance in moving the project forward. Sagebien noted that these officials were instrumental in obtaining the necessary governmental approvals to enable the scheduled closing on financing for the Coker Project.
The initial phase of the project will be the preparation of the construction site. This phase of construction will provide employment for about 200 workers. Manpower requirements for the coker construction project will increase over a period of about ten months to a peak of approximately 2000 workers. The Coker Project includes the construction of a coker, a petroleum coke storage facility and a dock for the shipment of coke as well as modifications to existing process units necessary to accommodate the operation of a coker at the refinery.
Early last year HOVENSA retained Bechtel to establish and operate a construction-crafts training program at the St. Croix Vocational School at HOVENSA'S expense. The program, which is being conducted in cooperation with the Departments of Labor and Education, is designed to provide training for Virgin Islands residents civil, electrical, instrument, millwright, pipefitting and welding crafts.
HOVENSA is owned equally by subsidiaries of Amerada Hess Corporation and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.
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GLOBAL CROSSING AND ALCATEL AGREE TO FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT FOR FIBER OPTIC CABLE NETWORK MAINTENANCE
Alcatel will be supplying technical expertise, experience and manpower to support 12 of Global Crossing's cable stations, in addition to the cable stations operations centre located in London.
Global Crossing is rapidly developing high capacity fibre-optic undersea cable systems and terrestrial facilities to connect the leading cities in the world, reliably and cost-effectively, and is well on course to developing, owning and operating the world's first integrated global IP-based network to help satisfy the explosive demand for reliable, high-quality transmission capacity.
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DELEGATE TO CONGRESS CONTINUES TO MAKE HEADWAY FOR THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 
Delegate Christensen seems to be moving mountains in Washngton, DC these days on behalf of the Territory. Recently, she was instrumental in getting the US Congress to vote favorably on a temporary increase of the rum tax coverover from $10.50 to $13.25 per proof gallon. The U.S. Senate's vote in favor of HR 1180 created new law that will yield millions to the cash-strapped coffers of the Territory. The Delegate also attained other favorable legislation for the Territory to help children without health insurance. She also introduced legislation to revive the charter boat industry. A few days ago, the Congresswoman held a press conference to announce her priorities for the new session 106th Congress.
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PRESIDENT CLINTON SIGNS BORROWING BILL INTO LAW
The legislation, which was signed Thursday evening, is intended to save the V.I. government on the cost associated with the planned borrowing, as well as, to allow the government to meet its current obligations and provide sufficient cash reserves to operate the government.
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VI UNIONS FEARFUL OF LOSING SOME OF THEIR AWESOME POWER
"Recurring General Fund deficits and unfunded current liabilities in recent years have, to a significant extent, been aggravated by collective bargaining agreements, whereby GVI employees enjoy greater bargaining rights than those enjoyed by Federal employees. In order to ensure fiscal solvency, the Governor of the Virgin Islands will submit legislation to the Legislature of the Virgin Islands by June 30, 2000 that will conform Virgin Islands public labor relations law, including Act No. 4440, with Federal public labor relations law."
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Interior Department Releases $16 Million for Y2K Solutions in the VI Government 
Ferdinand "Danny" Aranza, Director for the Office of Insular Affairs, (OIA) announced $16,103,276 in new Federal assistance is now on its way to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Aranza underscored the importance of this initiative affirming that there was serious concern in Washington and on the U.S.V.I., that the Y2K bug would cause major computer systems to crash and possibly cripple the government's ability to provide key services to the people.
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