The government of The Bahamas will sign a Heads of Agreement with Oban Energies for oil refinery and storage in Grand Bahama, paving the way for the bigwig project to take off.

Making the announcement, during the House of Assembly sitting yesterday, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said that the government has already approved Oban Energies and has completed negotiations which paves the way to start the project.

“In December 2016 the Government of the Bahamas approved Oban Energies to commence an oil refinery and oil storage facility in Grand Bahama.

“My Government has successfully completed negotiating the Heads of Agreement which paves the way for the commencement of this important project.

“This agreement articulates how this development can proceed,” Dr. Minnis said.

According to Dr. Minnis, the agreement lays out how the developer can proceed

“Oban Energies has [further] advised that first phase will consist of 4 million barrels of crude storage, a harbor, and deep-sea loading dock, to service large vessels and the construction of a 50,000 barrel per day refinery.

“In addition, Oban will build up to 20,000,000 million barrel liquid bulk storage facility and a 250,000 barrel per day refinery,” Dr.Minnis said.

Dr. Minnis  revealed that the project will create job opportunities for those unemployed, and how it will revitalize Grand Bahama.

“Oban Energies has committed to creating 600 direct jobs and we anticipate hundreds of indirect jobs during construction.

“The oil refinery has an estimated project cost of up to 4 billion US dollars and the terminal has an estimated project cost of up to One Billion Five Hundred Million Dollars. This is a very significant development for Grand Bahama,” Dr. Minnis said.

Dr. Minnis  pointed to specifics of the Head of Agreement, specifically social demands that the developer will contribute annually to be used in development of East Grand Bahama.

“The Developer shall contribute funds in the sum of One Hundred Thousand (USD $100,000) per annum to be used for community projects and the development of East Grand Bahama.  There shall be established a local community advisory board to determine the use of said funds.

The Dr. Minnis  confirmed that the Heads of Agreement will be signed on Monday, and that over the following two weeks, two additional Heads of Agreements will be signed.

According to the prime minister, the government has also approved in principle a recently announced project in West End and that it’s on track to approve the sale of the beleaguered Grand Lucayan Resort, which closed its doors more than a year ago.