The Limetree Bay refinery, which landed in U.S. bankruptcy court on Monday, needs at least $1 billion to finish a massive overhaul to continue as a viable operation, according to bankers, lawyers and restructuring specialists involved in the case, stacking the odds against the Caribbean facility resuming operations, Reuters reported. The St. Croix-based facility’s owners burned through $4.1 billion to resurrect what was once the largest refinery in the Western Hemisphere, hoping to take advantage of rising global demand. Instead, the refinery only operated for three months before U.S. environmental regulators shut it in May due to foul odors and noxious releases that harmed nearby communities. Limetree filed for chapter 11 protection with no clear path to restructure some $1.8 billion in debt. It says it needs “at least $150 million” to restart, but restructuring specialists familiar with the operation put that figure at an additional $1 billion. That grim assessment comes from interviews with several Wall Street bankers, lawyers and restructuring specialists involved in the bankruptcy case or closely familiar with it. These sources did not want their names used in this story because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The facility also now faces the specter of ongoing investigations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Justice Department.
