A Refinery Is Seeking Bankruptcy After the EPA Shut Them Down
An oil refinery that was once one of the largest in North America filed for bankruptcy after a series of environmental breaches and a government-ordered shut down, highlighting pressures faced by the oil industry to curb its environmental impact.
Limetree Bay Refining LLC sought creditor protection on Monday after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency halted its operations earlier this year. The St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands-based refinery, which filed for bankruptcy in 2015 under previous ownership, said in a statement that it plans to use the court protection process in Houston to negotiate with creditors and equity holders and weigh options including asset sales.
The refinery sought bankruptcy “due to severe regulatory and financial constraints” that forced it to suspend its refinery operations indefinitely, and has lined up as much as $25 million of so-called debtor-in-possession financing that will help it maintain the refinery through the Chapter 11 process, according to the statement.
