Even as the West Indies Oil Company (WIOC) marks the commissioning of a new tank, plans are in the works for further expansion.
The announcement came from WIOC’s Chief Executive Officer Gregory Georges during the ribbon cutting ceremony for ‘Tank 45’, which has the capacity to hold 100,000 barrels of fuel.
“I am proud to say that in another two months; another 400,000 barrels will come into service. Just to drive along the Marble Hill road and look into our terminal will show a significant amount of construction taking place,” he said. “That will be the norm for some time to come.”
In 2015, government acquired 51 per cent of the oil company’s shares, making it the majority shareholder.
Thursday, government announced that it has since been paid $5.5 million in dividends.
Georges said the tank expansion will also coincide with other upgrades.
“We are looking to do service station upgrades in Antigua and Dominica as well. We also intend to bolster our health, safety and environment culture,” he added.
He explained that the company Sol Petroleum, which partnered with WIOC on the expansion, will use WIOC as a hub for fuel.
“Sol will lease all 100,000 barrel tanks that WIOC can build; thank you Sol,” Georges said.
Sol is said to be the largest, independent petroleum marketing company in the Caribbean, with operations in over 20 countries.