Equinor sells its oil terminal at the Bahamas
Equinor has entered into
an agreement with Liwathon for the sale of the Equinor South Riding Point
oil terminal at the Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas.
The terminal was purchased
by Equinor in 2009 to enable the company to trade oil primarily originating
from the American markets.
“Since we bought the South Riding Point terminal in 2009, the flow
in the oil market in North America has changed significantly for Equinor
and the company has increasingly sold crude to other regions globally.
Consequently, we believe a new owner would be better positioned for the
further development of the terminal,” said Alex Grant, Equinor’s
senior vice president for Crude, 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 take over ownership
and commence a process to restart regular operations of the South Riding
Point terminal.”
Liwathon will assume the responsibilities for the employees of South Riding
Point.
The transaction is approved by Bahamian authorities.
Further commercial details on the transaction will not be disclosed.
Liwathon Group is an integrated logistics and investment business. The
company currently operates four facilities in Estonia with a storage capacity
of over one million m3. The company provides an extensive range of services
in the area of handling, transport and storage of liquid fuels traded globally.
The South Riding Point
terminal located at the Grand Bahama was commissioned in 1973 and was acquired
by Equinor in 2009. The total storage capacity is 6,8 million barrels.
In September 2019, the South Riding Point terminal was in the direct path
of Dorian, a violent category five hurricane, and sustained extensive damages
including an oil spill which affected the terminal site and a forest area
north-east of the terminal.
Since then, extensive clean-up operations have been performed by Equinor
in close collaboration with Bahamian authorities. The clean-up operations
outside the fence were concluded in March 2021 and extensive testing of
the groundwater outside the terminal has shown no sign of hydrocarbon deposits.