Limetree Bay’s Grand Opening Block Party With Fireworks, Bands, Deejay And Food Vans Set For Sunday At F’Sted Fort

ST. CROIX — More details have emerged about Limetree Bay’s grand opening, which has been set for Sunday following a private event the day before.

Sunday’s event is being called a block party, according to a flyer provided to this publication. It will take place at the Frederiksted Fort from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; will include Xpress Band, Eddie Russell, the Latin, Reggae, Calypso and Jazz band, DJ Swain, the Rising Stars Steel Pan Orchestra, and the St. Patrick’s Steel Pan Orchestra. There will also be entertainment by St. Croix Majorettes, and the St. Mary’s, Alfredo Andrews and the Ricardo Richards Quadrille Dancers.

There will be  giveaways for students 16 years and under, and free face painting for students 12 years and under.

The Department of Tourism and the Frederiksted Economic Development Association have some level of involvement in planning the event, according to a participating vendor, who requested anonymity to speak freely about Sunday’s block party. This vendor said the first 700 plates of food will be given to event attendees free of charge on a first-come first-served basis. Vendors are allowed to charge thereafter.

The roads will be closed from 12:00 p.m. on Sunday to make accommodation for the event. Seven vendors have been chosen to sell food, whose owners Limetree Bay is paying $750 each to participate in the affair, this vendor said.

The September grand opening was confirmed in June by Governor Kenneth Mapp, who also suggested during a press conference following his visit to China that ArcLight Partners, the parent company of Limetree Bay, would increase the amount of workers at the oil storage terminal during the month of September, which is when work on 17 additional storage tanks was to commence.

The governor said in June that Sinopec — a leading AA-rated Chinese state oil company traded in Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York worth about $1.5 trillion, through its stake in the former HOVENSA refinery with ArcLight Partners, LLC — would bring hundreds of jobs to the Big Island through major investments in the south shore facility, including a substantial increase in oil storage and, importantly, oil refining.

“This morning I want to be measured to the people of the Virgin Islands as I announce that Sinopec has advised me that they’re going to make major, significant investments in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Mr. Mapp said. He then revealed that Sinopec wants to increase the current oil storage capacity at the former HOVENSA site from its current 13 million barrels to “north of 50 million barrels” in 2-3 years, which would include the building of new storage tanks and other important work that calls for substantial additional manpower.

The governor said in June that Sinopec was reviewing the oil refining units at the refinery to determine its ability to function, “and literally to determine whether we can turn them on.” Mr. Mapp carefully noted, however, that his remarks were not to be construed as an announcement that refining at Limetree Bay was definitive.

“It is the company’s intention that some level of refining will be necessary at the St. Croix refinery. I do no want to be construed as announcing today that the company has made a decision to turn on the refinery,” he said. “But for all intents and from all our discussions, and all of their plans having to do with blending of crude, and the storage of crude — that there is a great possibility that the south shore refinery will, in fact, be restarted.”

The governor said Sinopec no longer wanted to use Very Large Crude Carriers (V.V.L.C.C.) at Limetree Bay, which holds 1 million barrels of crude oil; the firm wants to raise the stakes and instead use Ultra Large Crude Carriers, capable of holding 2 million barrels of oil. Through the operating agreement signed between the Government of the Virgin Islands and ArcLight Partners, ArcLight has committed to build a buoy system to facilitate major oil tanks. The project includes dredging the south shore, which currently is 50 feet deep, to 70 feet deep — enabling the accommodation of the ultra crude carriers.