Labour Minister Dion Foulkes told reporters ahead of his weekly cabinet meeting yesterday that a new OBAN Energies heads of agreement is on the horizon.
This came five months after announcing an amended head of agreement was underway back in June.
Mr. Foulkes also confirmed that a negotiation team has been appointed to ensure that everything is in line with the principles of OBAN.
He said, “We’re currently in the process of notifying the principles and speaking to the negotiation team to get our terms of reference.”
He added, “I do not want to go beyond this until I get some specific information as to when we are going to restart the renegotiation. We have a proposed date for January, but I have not spoken to the negotiation team yet .”
The government signed the agreement with OBAN Energies for the $5.5 billion oil refinery and storage facility for East Grand Bahama on February 10 without notifying the public.
The Minnis administration also held a contract signing on February 19th with OBAN Energies non-executive Chairman Peter Krieger.
The government also signed the agreement without an environmental impact assessment in place, which served as a major concern for environmentalists.
Back in March, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis admitted that his government made a series of missteps regarding its deal with OBAN Energies in its rush to boost the economy of Grand Bahama.
