May 5, 2011 [OPIS] - Puma Energy Caribe, LLC has agreed to clean up the former Caribbean Petroleum Refining facility in Bayamon, Puerto Rico and address environmental conditions at 147 gas stations throughout Puerto Rico under two agreements proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Puma Energy is a subsidiary of global trading house Trafigura. Puma Energy, which was formed in 1997, now operates in 23 countries worldwide. It already has a strong fuel marketing presence in the Caribbean.
Puma intends to purchase the petroleum storage facility, now known as CAPECO, and the gas stations after successfully bidding $82 million to acquire the facility at a court-ordered bankruptcy sale. The deal was announced last December. On Oct. 23, 2009, a catastrophic explosion and fires at the CAPECO facility caused tremendous damage to the facility and significant environmental impacts.
In August 2010, Caribbean Petroleum Refining, Caribbean Petroleum Corporation and Gulf Petroleum Refining Corporation filed a Chapter 11 petition in United States Bankruptcy Court to liquidate their assets. Puma is voluntarily entering into the agreements to clarify and resolve its future environmental responsibilities at the CAPECO facility and the gas stations, subject to purchasing the properties. EPA is receiving public comment on the proposed agreements until May 9, 2011. Under the first agreement, Puma will perform cleanup work at the CAPECO facility under the federal Superfund law, which governs cleanups of closed or abandoned hazardous waste sites. The work includes asbestos abatement, removing and disposing of hazardous and ignitable material and cleaning up acidic water that has leaked onto the ground in one section of the facility. Puma has also agreed to pay EPA’s costs in overseeing the cleanup work.
Under the second agreement, which is also being signed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puma has agreed to assume responsibility for compliance with federally-approved Commonwealth regulations governing the underground petroleum storage tank systems at 147 of the gas stations that are currently owned or leased by Caribbean Petroleum Corporation. In addition, Puma has agreed to operate the gas stations in accordance with these laws and make certain EPA-recommended improvements to leak detection and overfill protection systems at the gas stations go beyond what is required by the regulations.
In March, Puma Energy added approximately 290 fuel service stations and eight fuel storage terminals, a substantial business-to-business network, four aviation fuel supply businesses, and two marine fuel supply businesses in Guatemala and Panama.
Puma Energy will also be acquiring ExxonMobil’s 20,000-b/d Manref refinery in Managua, Nicaragua, and its 65% stake in the 22,000-b/d RASA refinery in El Salvador. The acquisition in each country is subject to regulatory approvals.
