No To NuStar Expansion

In 2011 and 2012 SEAD was active to stop the then planned expansion of oil terminal operator NuStar Energy L.P. on the island. The blog https://no-to-nustar-expansion-steustatius.blogspot.com/ was set up to inform the international community on the planned expansion and encourage them to sign the petition. In June 2012, NuStar Energy L.P. withdraw its request for a building permit to expand the terminal. 

Note May 2020: NuStar announced that it has closed on the sale of its oil storage terminal on St. Eustatius,as well as related assets, to Prostar Capital. It is now called GTI.

About St. Eustatius and NuStar Energy L.P.

St. Eustatius, locally known as Statia, is a Dutch Caribbean island, close to St. Maarten and St. Kitts. The island has an area of approximately 21 square km (or 8.1 square miles). According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Curacao the population is recorded at 2886 inhabitants (2010). Although not widely recognized, the island has a tremendous rich history. During the 18th century, it was the main transshipment point in the Western hemisphere. For tourism purposes, St. Eustatius is marketed as “The Historical Gem”. Since 1982, an oil terminal is operational on the island.
 
NuStar’s existing terminal on St. Eustatius (67 tanks)
 NuStar Energy L.P. is the second largest oil terminal operator in the United States of America. NuStar is a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange, and recently entered the Fortune 500 list (annual ranking of America’s largest corporations). NuStar holds 65 terminal and storage facilities around the world, and acquired Statia Terminal in 2005. Measured by storage capacity, the terminal on St. Eustatius is by far the largest of all (13 million barrels). Statia’s storage capacity alone is just as big as 25% of all 55 NuStar’s terminals in the United States (50.6 barrels). Source: NuStar Annual Report 2010

About the Proposed Expansion

According to the Memorandum of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), NuStar’s expansion plan consists of the following:
  • Increase of the total capacity of 2.2 million m3 (13,8 million barrels) by an additional 1.9 million m3 (11,8 million barrels)
  • Construction of approximately 31 new tanks for the storage of various hydrocarbon products, such as crude oil, fuel oil, jet fuel, gasoil and gasoline
  • Construction of a new ± 1,730 m jetty in the Smoke Alley area to allow the transshipment of oil by ocean vessels
  • New infrastructure like power generation and micro-tunnel between the existing and the new terminal for the transport of products by pipeline 
Red = existing terminal - Green = new terminal

Arguments Against the Expansion

SEAD believes that the proposed location for expansion of NuStar Energy L.P. in The Farm area on St. Eustatius is not a good idea, because it will:
  1. Destroy a very valuable historical site which contains three possible slave cemeteries (possibly one of the largest ever found in the Caribbean!), an 18th century plantation cemetery, two possible slave villages, and a plantation complex;
  2. Have a dramatic impact on the island’s scenic views that will hamper tourism development and the atmosphere of a rural area that St. Eustatius (as The Historical Gem) is famous for;
  3. Increase the risk of accidents, major oil spill, damage to the island’s ecosystem in an area very close to schools, residential, touristic & recreational areas, and in the approach route of an airport;
  4. Lead to the destruction of several natural reef systems in the Statia Natural Marine Park because of the new to be built jetty;
  5. No longer give access to The Lower Town (main) beach of the island and popular dive sites.

Online library of relevant documents

Sign the Petition












We
St. Eustatius Awareness and Development (SEAD) Movement and other concerned citizens on the island of St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean

Conclude
That the proposed location for expansion of NuStar Energy L.P. in The Farm area on St. Eustatius (with an additional 40 tanks and a new to be built jetty) will:
  1.  Destroy a very valuable historical site which contains three possible slave cemeteries (possibly one of the largest ever found in the Caribbean!), an 18th century plantation cemetery, two possible slave villages, and a plantation complex;
  2. Have a dramatic impact on the island’s scenic views that will hamper tourism development and the atmosphere of a rural area that St. Eustatius (as The Historical Gem) is famous for;
  3. Increase the risk of accidents, major oil spill, damage to the island’s ecosystem in an area very close to schools, residential, touristic & recreational areas, and in the approach route of an airport;
  4. Lead to the destruction of several natural reef systems in the Statia Natural Marine Park because of the new to be built jetty;
  5. No longer give access to The Lower Town (main) beach of the island and popular dive sites.
And request
  1. That NuStar Energy L.P. will look for other areas to build their new terminal, even if this would mean bigger investments;
  2.  That our concerns are heard by government, that government will not try to prevent an open discussion, and that the people of St. Eustatius are involved in the decision making process;
  3. New research on how to improve the tourism sector and other economical development that will benefit the island.
NB The photo is an edited image of what the Farm area would look like when the proposed 40 new oil tanks are built.

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