Where are the watch dogs??

One of my friends pointed out that we set out to identify an operator for the refinery, we conducted a good search, identified a potential candidate, Quantum — which failed to come up with financing. Then suddenly, the second fiddle, Eagle LNG, became first fiddle, negotiating with WEB.

Imagine your car breaks down, you’re broke, you cannot afford to fix it. Following an exhaustive search, you identify a garage anyway, and after spending some time discussing your challenges, you commit to buying a brand new BMW, and agree to pay for it, over 20 years.

True, a while ago, during the previous green government, there was talk about LNG as a transition-fuel, but the contract with a Dutch provider never materialized because it was deemed too expensive, apparently, renewable energy is cheaper. And while cleaner, the price of LNG is fickle and unstable.

Bottom-line: We are tied for 20 years, to produce 50% of our energy from LNG, which is a fossil fuel.

A few friends wrote in:

It is ironic. But we are doing Eagle LNG a huge favor, because the delay in signing with Aruba necessitated an extension of the deadline for the construction of the facility from which Aruba is to receive its LNG.

Imagine, the facility IS NOT BUILT YET, and based on the contract with Aruba, Eagle LNG can now obtain financing. Thus, “the Jacksonville City Council approved Houston-based Eagle LNG Partners LLC’s request for another year to start construction on its estimated $542 million liquefied natural gas export facility in North Jacksonville. The Council voted 17-0 to extend Eagle LNG’s deadline to begin construction from May 31 this year to May 31, 2022. An Eagle executive said on April 22nd that coronavirus-related border closures in some Caribbean and Central American countries over the past year and quarantine orders kept the company from completing customer contracts with the government-owned and private utility companies that would receive the LNG shipping from Jacksonville.” “We asked for the year extension because of how slow some of these islands will be in recovery but we want to go sooner than a year.” Eagle LNG will have until Dec. 31, 2025, to complete the facility on 200 acres at 1632 Zoo Parkway along the St. Johns River with 12 new full-time jobs in place. Quoted from: Jaxdailyrecord.com

That is funny. Our slow recovery hampered their plans. So now we have to make sure, we get as much benefit from this arrangement, as that company, that GOT ITS START here, and is planning to expand into Central American and Caribbean Island nations, with Aruba as a springboard.

Additionally, the reason why the Eagle LNG terminal will not go into Barcadera, is that the company wants to most-probably circumvent paying ASTEC a lease, for the land, already dredged.

And for the first time in recorded history of the fossil fuels industry’s presence and operations in Aruba, the general public at large, outside the refinery concession area in San Nicolas, will be exposed to potentially lethal, wide scale risks due to the inherent dangers of LNG gas transport from San Nicolas to Barcadera, and for the duration of 20 years. Something that, as pointed out by parliamentarian Miguel Mansur, would not fly in the USA.

The inhabitants of San Nicolas, Zeewijk, Cura Cabay, Mason, Savaneta, Pos Chiquito, Sabana Basora and Barcadera will have a pipeline to contend with WITHOUT any environmental study made.

And the contract is confidential, so stakeholders such as parliament, the press and the public, cannot be informed on environmental, health and safety issues. All details are hidden behind non-disclosure, because of so-called commercial competitiveness.

This cannot be legal, without an Environmental Impact Assessment, and an Environmental, Health and Social Impact Assessment. I just can’t understand how this is possible. It is in violation of common sense. What does Directie Natuur en Milieu Aruba say??