Mac floats oil refinery idea
(CNS): The premier has said that an oil refinery would give the country a national safety net and it is a project that should be given proper considered before people criticize it. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday morning about the need for government to utilize its assets in order to generate growth and develop the necessary infrastructure projects, McKeeva Bush said an oil refinery would diversify the economic base and lower the cost of living for everybody as it would reduce the cost of fuel. He said it would create jobs, increase the country’s gross domestic product and reduce the trade imbalance among other things. The premier said if it was done properly with environmental and safety considerations it would offer many benefits.
“This idea has been raised before, and we should know all the facts before criticizing it,” Bush added. The premier did not say where the refinery would go or whether it would be part of the proposed East End Commercial Sea Port but listed what he believed would be a number of benefits. He noted that it would the lessen the country’s dependence on outside producers to supply refined petroleum, increase storage capacity for petroleum, resolve issues regarding the current location of petroleum storage tanks, produce aviation fuel locally and allow regional and global trade of crude.
“On a national level, we should consider our dependence on the two international oil companies that currently service the Island. An oil refinery is a development that would give us a national safety net – one that warrants serious consideration,” Bush stated adding that people should know the facts first before shouting the idea down and when the time came there would be discussion and public consultation.
Pointing out that the country could no longer borrow anymore money along with the difficulties of raising more revenue in order to develop the island and grow wealth government had to utilize the assets that it had. If not, he said the development of infrastructure would come to “a grinding halt,” the premier told his legislative colleagues
He said government was exploring projects very carefully, including the sewerage project to ensure that there is a net benefit created by using these assets. “In the short term, there is the potential for reduced cost to the public sector and an increase in revenue; in the longer term, there is the potential for both direct and indirect creation of jobs and employment opportunities as well as providing modern and efficient water and sewerage treatment systems,” Bush stated. “Other major projects expected to commence this year are the construction of the North Sound Channel, the development of a Special Economic Zone and the construction of the Shetty Hospital.”
Bush said that the necessary infrastructure would be provided to support the channel through the North Sound to enable the country to take full advantage of the project from an economic perspective, “while mitigating any potential adverse impacts on the environment,” he added.
“We will also make the channel viable and open that area of the North Sound for redevelopment, thus enhancing properties. We will need to develop two islands in that area as well, which as I said will make the channel viable,” Bush revealed.
The premier also spoke about the plans for a Special Economic Zone, which were announced at the recent Cayman Business Outlook Conference in January which he said would be dedicated to the needs of specific types of foreign investment.
“This particular zone is designed to focus on future technology and intellectual innovation, and is the first of its kind in the Caribbean region. We recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hon Development to commence construction by December of this year, once legislative amendments and detailed agreements are concluded.”
He said the zone would establish the Cayman Islands as a global centre for a variety of knowledge-based industries such as information and communication technology; software development; biotechnology and new media; among others.
“Once again, the Cayman Islands will be at the forefront of global innovation creating new and exciting career and leadership opportunities for generations of Caymanians to come,” the premier told his legislative colleagues. “The Special Economic Zone is also expected to contribute a minimum of 15% of the Cayman Islands GDP over the next 10 years, which puts us on the right path for economic diversification whilst protecting our unique environment. With an investment valued at over US$500 million over the next 8 years, and the potential for over 5,000 highly skilled jobs, the benefits of this development extend beyond economic impact and into the development of our human capital.”
Greater opportunities in higher education, skills upgrading and benefits that come with technology transfer, he added would have a long-term impact on national efficiency and global competitiveness.
The premier did not mention the cruise terminal project or plans for the East End Seaport but also said he was examining the development of a pier and related facilities at the Cayman Turtle Farm in West Bay; a cruise pier and related facilities in Cayman Brac, with Dervin Scott, major road works to the eastern districts of Grand Cayman and enhancements to our airports both in Grand Cayman and Little Cayman.
Category: Headline News
We’re doomed, this…
CNS: Any chance of a poll on this with options similar to one of his other utterly ridiculous projects (North Sound Channel)?
Thanks
CNS: I just posted the Channel poll today.
Sorry CNS meant a poll on the refinery with similar options to the one you posted today 🙂
CNS: OK – the poll is posted.
Thank you CNS 🙂
We’re doomed, this…
CNS: Any chance of a poll on this with options similar to one of his other utterly ridiculous projects (North Sound)?
Thanks
Why would the Premier want to open up the Cayman Islands to this sort of problem?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/28/refinery-regulation_n_829005.html
Our beloved Premier appears to remain blissfully oblivious to the fact that oil is a non-renewable energy source that is being depleted at the rate of some 87 million BARRELS PER DAY worldwide. We are running out of oil, folks, and probably much faster than the greedy oil producers would have us believe. In a JUNE 2007 article in The Independent newspaper (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/world-oil-supplies-are-set-to-run-out-faster-than-expected-warn-scientists-453068.html, scientists warned us that world oil supplies would start to run out in FOUR YEARS. THAT four years is now FOUR MONTHS away! President OBAMA has proposed no less than 29.5 BILLION in the United States 2012 budget for clean energy research and deployment. "Whomever leads in the global, clean energy economy will also take the lead in creating high-paying, highly skilled jobs for its people," the administration said in the budget. Yet our Premier continues to insists that going the way of the dinosaur makes sense.
An article on Natural News.com states that ’Half the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels is actually winding up the oceans, says new research published in the journal Science. And that’s threatening the health of the oceans and the diverse organisms living there, say researchers.
The general public is being very seriously misled to believe that the worst of the gulf oil fiasco is over and that the biggest remaining issue associated with this is the cleanup. Well, check out ‘BP oil volcano’ and ‘BP OIL SPILL: VOLCANIC TSUNAMI AND POISON GAS ALERT’ on you tube and many other resources on the internet to appraise yourself if the very likely, imminent, and horrendous consequences of mankind’s unrelenting insistence on pillaging mother nature in the name of greed. New, clean, renewable, inexhaustible, energy technology ALREADY exists in our world folks. People have been MURDERED trying to get it to the masses in the name of greed and the destruction of our planet and all its inhabitants. But it is coming. It must. And THAT is where we need to be focusing our attention.
WAKE UP, Mr. PREMIER.
not sure why everybody is so worried….
the fact that mac has said it is going to happen means that it WON’T happen…. just like all of his other ideas and plans over thast 2 years
I always heard that hope is comfort to a fool and a drowning man clutches at straws. UDP has not produced anything, but they have been thrusting out hope that something will happen. Remember Mac saying he was going to turn the economy around in 90 days? He has 90 days left in this financial year and cannot borrow next year, so we’ll see who is being fooled then. That’s when the rubber will meet the road. I am sorry for all those with straws at that time.
Perhaps he’s turned the economy around 360 degrees…
Peak Oil
Globally oil production has plateaued and demand is going up. Therefore the price of crude is going up. The price of crude in the gulf today was $113.
The price of crude is controlled by the daily production rate and the reserves in the ground. Having a refinery will not be much use if you can’t afford to be oil in the first instance.
Elementary: Someone over noodles and bok choy has given him an idea. His job is to convince people on a cash starved island what a good idea an oil refinery is, someone over caviar told him what a good idea it would be to dredge the North Sound. Jobs! jobs! jobs! The precursor to bad ideas. Unfortunately for them, his credibility is quite low. At the bottom. So he pulls out the old hat trick of blaming the opposition, the media, and "bloggers". People who don’t see his "vision". Fortunately, it doesn’t work on a weary public, who no longer take him seriously, because the visions have all turned out to be hallucinations.
Unfortunately, no one took George Bush seriously either and after he put the U.S. in turmoil he left. Without one single beneficial idea. But he fulfilled his agenda and some got rich.
Shanky, we with you. Politicians don’t do anything unless we come out in protest.They don’t like it when the rest of the world sees what’s going on in their own house. Airing the dirty laundry and all. It it is the only thing that makes them worry and respect the peoples wishes. Look at whats going on in the Middle East. They can’t kick you our for a protest march if your Caymanian. Us expats will get the boot for subversion. I’ll still be there righ behind you.
Thank you. We love your beautiful expatriate balls, shanky.
Even putting the environmental problems aside, in order to attract anyone to refine their oil here, we would need to do it more cheaply and more effeciently than the other refineries in the area. This alone is two things Cayman does not do well.
Sure we can do it, but generally it ends up being MORE expensive and LESS well managed than other places. It will end up a disused, derelict rusting wasteland after the first major disaster/explosion/toxic chemical release, assuming we survive the explosion/posioning it to worry about it.
Smell that?? That’s the smell of progress!! See that smoke? That’s the Premier.
Gas prices won’t drop, only the profits will increase.
5000 highly skilled jobs are of course not for caymanians.
More cheap labor import, more people, more traffic, more crime.
You guys wonder why Elio and Capt Eugene are so quiet??? Haven’t you noticed few of the other members have spoken or have any say in any matters since they got in either??? Arden and Ezzard get a word in once in a while but in truth the only one who is running and subsequently runining this country is Mac Mouth. Seymour is awaiting trial for assault, C.G. is out diving. Rolston is trying to appease the unemployed with lip service. Mac Mouth is doing what he wants how he wants when he wants without question or bounds and he expects us to take it or leave it!!! Wake up people….Mac Mouth IS the government of Cayman which translates to DICTATOR for those who haven’t clued in yet. Time to bring back democracy and fast. Any candidates willing to take back Cayman…let me know so we can spread the word for 2013.
For true democracy to work you need 2 things. A good level of educated and involved people and good moral leadership.
Hence Caymans Democrazy! Cayman is a work in progress.
I think Cayman Islands needs to be run by teenagers, because it seems they would make more sensible decisions than the present legislation. Why spend money that we don’t have? We need to focus on what we already have and improve on it not bring more, there’s enough on our plate.
Instead of investing in an oil refinery that will only add to pollution, why not invest in a solar power. The land and money required to build the oil refinery can be invested more widely into solar panels that would take up the same land that the refinery would be built on.
It seems theres money signs in the governments eyes but we need to consider our environment. If we do not take care of our environment then we may not survive long enough to enjoy the money.
It’s a no brainer! We live in the tropics where the sun is robustly shining 95% of the time. In the rainy season just store the energy not used during the sunny times. Theres pros and cons to everything but I think a solar power plant would be a better investment than an oil refinery. We’d just be making that hole in the ozone bigger and bigger, ice caps will melt, sea levels will rise and I wonder what will happen to Cayman? We cant think of whats happening right now. We have to be innovative and make sure the decisions we make now do not compromise the future generations to meet there needs.
Why don’t we demand that the government of the Cayman Islands, UDP or PPM, figure out how to properly run a school that can teach children how to read, write and do math before we allow them to go into the oil refinery business?
What about putting it on the Brac – would provide much needed jobs over here.
I agree smoke and mirrors! But the oil refinery idea was floated to distract people from the replacement for the tort reform bill that was circulated and guess what…..it worked, there are 71 comments here and almost none on the article about the replacement law which is a legal NIGHTMARE they closed the back door that was open to sue under contract law if you were not successful on the tort law level. I sure hope we can all get off the island for medical care once that monster becomes law. Government traded economic stimulation for protection from unethical medical practitioners. Talk about selling your soul to the devil.
I thought that this was an April Fools story until I checked the date!
Come ‘n listen to my story ’bout a man named Jed
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed
And then one day, he was shootin’ at some food
And up through the ground come a bubblin’ crude
Oil, that is, black gold, Texas tea
Well, the first thing you know, old Jed’s a millionaire
Kin folk said, Jed, move away from there
Said, Californy is the place you oughta be
So they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly
Hills, that is, swimmin’ pools, movie stars
Well, now it’s time to say goodbye to Jed and all his kin
They would like to thank you folks for kindly droppin’ in
You’re all invited back again to this locality
To have a heapin’ helpin’ of their hospitality
Hillbilly, that is, set a spell, take your shoes off
Y’all come back now, hear?
Hi 17:18
I’ll bet that you will be the first to benefit from this development.
We Caymanians are so concieted…crab in the barrel mentality …already got it made…scared that your neighbour will catcth up with your wealth. give Mac a break. lets hear your idia.
Too funny!!! Remember also… if they put in an oil refinery we’ll be invaded by the U.S. to save us from our despotic leader. Hmmm. Guess it’s not that bad we could all become military contractors. And get rich!!
Before we cast stones at Mac’s idea, refineries could bring to the island benefits other than merely economic ones. For an excellent example, consider Baytown, Texas – a city just east of Houston:
Refineries contribute to an interesting "signature" ambiance to the greater Baytown area; it is the type of modern cosmopolitan industrial ambiance sorely needed in Grand Cayman. Why settle for bland, odourless and colourless air when we can infuse Grand Cayman’s atmosphere with the heady aroma of a vibrant and successful industrialised nation?
When nearing Houston coming in from east on Interstate 10, you can smell (and sometimes even taste) the air, even with windows rolled up and A/C on. Without seeing any signs, your nose tells you that you are passing through Baytown. If you totally lack olfactory capabilities, driving through air you can actually see is another giveaway as to your location.
When cruising westbound into Houston at night, weary from driving, it is comforting to know I am nearing my destination. Without even looking at my Garmin, familiarsensations – watering eyes, burning nose, and scratchy throat – tell me that just few more miles and I will be seeing the light atop the Transco Tower shining through the haze.
Before you nay-say Mac’s insightful plan to boost our economy, please stop and consider the many, less spoken of, advantages to his suggestion. At night mariners will be able to navigate by smell alone even if not in sight of the island. There will be less risk of sunburn for our tourists due to the darkening of the skies caused by the sun filtering through the semi-transparent air. There will be fewer cataracts because the dazzlingly bright sun shining through once-clear skies will be dimmed. A added health benefit will be reduced risk of melanoma for the same reasons. Even the most hardened opponent must admit that a few chronic respiratory problems are much preferred over blindness and melanoma.
The National Conservation Law will take up less verbiage because will finally allow nature to take its course. Many of those pesky species that suck up so much undue attention will go belly up from toxins. We might even save on the expense of the Law entirely. Once a refinery is in full production, it might not be worth the time and money to pass and enforce a new conservation law as there will not be so much left to protect.
In regard to Mac’s refinery proposal, Brackers should not cry about being left out again in favour of Grand Cayman. They should embrace and promote the idea. Refineries on Grand Cayman may be the answer to the issue of developing the Sister Islands. Think of it. Those annoying health junkies who do not appreciate waking up with sore throats, those whiney wimps who are so averse to toxins, and those tree-huggers with their obsessive fixation on clean air and unpolluted water will leave Grand Cayman in droves and many will choose to move to the irritatingly pristine Cayman Brac.
Brackers, you should start a mutual fund to invest in building a refinery on Grand Cayman. This could be your sterling opportunity! Rumour has it that Ms. Julianna was the one who put the refinery bug in Mac’s ear. I would not put it past her at all. After all she is a Bracker, and Brackers are very crafty people who ultimately stick together when it benefits their collective cause.
To top it all off, thereis the potential that Mount Trashmore will no longer be the blight of the island because it can be seen from visiting cruise ships. With any luck a smog cloud will completely obscure Mount Trashmore from being seen by cruise passengers. Depending on how the smog drifts, this could be quite a picturesque scene, reminiscent of those photographs of Mount Fuji with its peak enveloped in the clouds. Ahhh…I can close my eyes and see the postcards now.
With the backbreakingly exorbitant cost of fuel these days I am open to just about anything that would bring relief from the almost-criminal prices charged by our current fuel suppliers. And that is no joke.
OK, ExxonMobile, bring it on!
If any one loves our Islands then be prepared to MARCH to the Legislative Assembly to DEMAND that that the conservation law be passed NOW.
Mack and his cohorrts will destroy us, but only if we allow them.
Let the people tell him how to vote, no let the people demand that he votes.
Will you MARCH with me?
Shanky
Better read that Conservation law carefully…you may not be able to cut down a thatch tree to build your home if that passes. Don’t believe me ask DOE, they wrote it. They will say” we would not do that”but then ask them if it is possible under the law that the thatch will be a protected specie and could be so protected? Same with red shanks, soldier crabs, periwinkles, birch trees, parrot nests, etc etc..
careful what you wish for…
The Amarada Hess refinery, now owned and operated by Venezuela, on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands is a perfect example of what a refinery can do for the economy and the ecology of an island in the Caribbean. Oil is shipped by tankers from Venezuela, refined and then transshipped to other countries. But most of the gasoline is shipped back to Venezuela. The refinery also supplies the service stations on St. Croix where it is sold at a considerable savings to customers when compared to prices charged on surrounding islands.
Venezuela still has inadequate refining capacity. Perhaps Mac could negotiate a deal with Hugo and together they could get their buddies in China and Iran to both finance and contruct the refinery. After all, according to Mac, China is interested in investing in the Caymans. And while they are at it, they could go ahead and build that new port.
Where to put it all is the only item to be determined. Anyone know where Mac’s real estate trust holdings are located??
Insider information, shhhhh….
I hear that acting upon Mrs. Julie’s sage advice, Mac’s real estate trust holdings are located on Cayman Brac. Both of them know where Grand Cayman land values will go once the refinery starts operation.
I’m with Mac: I buyin’ where the air and water will remain clear and where I won’t get kidnapped for my cigs or robbed when I go to the beach.
Great idea Mac……..it fits right in with CaymanKind !!!
We can’t say AtWater isn’t earning its consultancy fees…..Lol.
I think the next tourism promotion ought to be termed CaymanCrudeSpa……..sounds catchy doesn’t it ?
Tagline – “Come let us oil you up”
Gee… they’ve got a refinery in Singapore.
Get over it folks. All this means is that the dredgers are slowly creeping in to the North Sound. Mac just blowin smoke out his rear end to cause a diversion.
If it was just smoke it would be OK! 🙂
I remember going to Houston Texas over 10 years ago. We flew there to drive up to San Antonio. And the one thing that has always stuck out in my mind, when we left the airport to go to the rental car place, was the awful smell in the air. I asked my friend what this awful smell was and he said the smell of oil. That’s the ONLY thing I remember about being in Houston Texas! The nasty stinky smell of oil. I’m sure Houston is a nice place, but that’s the only thing that stuck with me all these years, about being in Houston Texas. I don’t think that’s what tourists want to come here and experience. This island is too small for something of that magnitude. McKeeva has got to be a mad man to even let words like that pass through his lips. God knows the world must look at us as a bunch of backward fools!!
In Texas that is the sweet smell of money but I take your point. Anyone who has seen a refinery of any size would know that you will would need about one-third of the total land area of GC. A really big one with all the accessories would need everything past Frank Sound.
Hi 13:57
Houston can’t be that bad, 195, 361,000 is the population of Houston, and they been living there from God knows when.
Must have been your first time off the Island of Grand Cayman….culture shook sounds more like it, keep on traveling, my friend…. and maybe you will evolve from your state of madness. I lived there for 3 years and can only remember the taste of racisim.
19:34, I think you are the only person here thinking along the lines of….what did you say?…..”racisim” or “madness”, because you obviously didn’t take the time to read and UNDERSTAND what I was trying to say. And please do explain what “culture shook” as you put it, had to do with what I smelled in the air? Didn’t realize I was smelling culture, I thought all along it was oil. But you were somewhat right in one point. It was my FIRST time to Houston and no it wasn’t culture “shock” is the word I think you meant to use, it was simply the stink of oil in the air that I remembered about Houston.
Question to get your simple mind thinking. Do you remember what your first impression was of any particular place you have visited? Houston for example, since you say you lived there for 3 years. What sticks out the most in your mind about that place, the first time you visited there?? Well once you’ve figured that out, then maybe you will understand what I was trying to say! It was my first time visiting Houston and even though it was over 10 years ago, (and I was just passing through going on to San Antonio, which I really loved by the way and remember it for so many reasons and none being the smell of oil) the one thing that sticks out in my mind about Houston is the smell of oil in the air.
Do you think if we put an oil refinery on our island that is so heavily dependent on the tourist dollar that our tourist industry will last for much longer after that? I would bet that any person other than the 195,361,000 that you say live in Houston and don’t mind the smell of oil, would tell you that they don’t much like the smell of oil in the air or the feel of oil between their toes while walking on the beach, while they are on vacation!!
Get a grip buddy, seriously! I only used Houston as an example because of all the places I’ve visited, it’s the only place that had that smell in the air. Oh and I don’t even want to know how you tasted racism!!
Let me see….We took someone with a questionable past and without so much as a high school diploma and put him in our Legislative Assembly to lead us because he promised he was a financial genius who had all the answers and could solve our (and therefore the world’s) economic woes where real world economists have failed………..and then we are somehow surprised by this crap? The outside world must be LTAO. We’re the one’s that need to be fitted with straight jackets……….
I know of a great walled compound in West Bay which could be the perfect location for this!
WOW…..didn’t realize cayman had 34 experts in oil refinery first i would like to say have anyone seen the plant or know for sure that it wont work…..let me ask a quick question do anyone know what sort of impact CUC’s 17 generators causes on the environment my guess would be no so why are we not conerned with that is it because we’re to busy enjoying the benefits of electricity……i say let’s wait and see the facts and then form an opinion…..
they couldnt care less how great this project/ Industry would work for Cayman…its just about putting Mac down.
Actually, putting himself down is one of the few things that Mac does well, without any help from ‘they’.
We in fact have MANY, MANY more than 34 experts with common sense and a brain in Cayman, not counting you and Mac. We can most certainly do without an oil refinery in Cayman but we can hardly do without CUC’s 17 generators now can we? Are you suggesting that an oil refinery will not have any more negative impacts on the environment than we already have? Are you suggesting that we should wait until we HAVE an oil refinery before we can form a sensible opinion as to whether or not we should have it? Is Mac teaching you?
For your information, many Caymanian seafarers (multiples of the only 34 you are stating) worked on oil tankers that call to oil refineries to load and discharge and those many seafarers from this background have walked or driven through numerous oil refineries to know a lell of allot more that our stupid dictator who has no clue what he he getting him self into by suggesting an oil refinery.
Oil refineries produce waste and therefore require a dump to dispose of this waste. The dump comes in the form of many oil sludge lakes or large ponds where it sits forever and leaches into the environment. Then to add to this building this east just allows the prevailing wind to disperse the toxic exhausts down along the entire island. Have you not heard of the health problems around towns close to oil refineries.
Mac, have you ever seen a refinery and the resulting wasteland immediately surrounding it?
If you need examples take a “fact finding” trip to Newark NJ, Houston TX or someplace similar. You will see that this is the quickest way to destroy the environment other than dropping Agent Orange.
Big Mac….you need to go no further than the Caribbean A,B,C islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) to see that Aruba still offers tourism, but it’s sister island of Curacao “STINKS!!” -really, it smells of oil. It is still very pretty and the people are nice, but it is truly and industrial place, not sutiable for tourism. I’ve only been there to conduct regioanl business and it is not a tourist destination.
Curacao excels in the oil refinery business only do it’s close promiximty to Venezuela……does anybody even SEE an Oil Rig within 500 miles of here!?!
I’m all for helping our country find another industry for our economy…
Sorry, the ONLY place it could go….IS CAYMAN BRAC!!!
Hey, Married to a Camanian! What have you got against us Brackers???
Cayman’s future?
http://labucketbrigade.wordpress.com/category/oil-refineries/
What, MAC worry?
If an Oil Refinery will be detrimental to tourism, did anyone stop to think what the Cruise Port would do to it either?
Balboa, Cali both unusable, and then there is Cheeseburger/Soto’s Reef that will either be non accessible or covered in sand kicked up by the ships. Any idea how much money those areas create in watersports tourism with the 1000’s of people who go to see the beauty underwater here in Cayman when they visit? And No a bigger dock will not make more cruise ships come.
Yes a refinery makes theoretical economic sense, but then you have to take into account a lot of other aspects as well .. stop trying to go big or go home, just stay small and sustainable! Oh wait .. too late!
This is the stupidest idea yet XXXXX. I was in the Isle of Wight last September and the unpleasant odour coming from the refinery at Fawley could be smelt more than ten miles from it.
That refinery was built 90 years ago when the area was sparsely populated. It would never get planning permission now.
On an island the size of Cayman can have a refinery or tourism. It is too small for both.
Don’t worry. It will never happen.
Why don’t we also build an Underwater Theatre in the middle of the North Sound to attract “overseas” sea creatures as well? This could also serve double duty as a place for McKeeva to star in his own play i.e. The Sinking of the Cayman Islands!
Get real! A refinery!!
Rated “O” for oil.
great idea…..i dont understand why all the objections…..mmmm……money…..like a pig in s**t
He could have googled the idea http://www.hovensa.com/
Just two quicks points to make:
# 1, if a refinery is built it would, of course, have to be located in the East End district as it is the only Grand Cayman district left with any appreciable undeveloped land. (If you don’t believe this, just look at any aerial photo of G. Cayman taken recently) If located there, the normal easterly trade winds would carry the stench of the refinery across the entire Grand Cayman Island most days of the year.
# 2, there is no oil underneath any of our islands as we are the peaks of an undersea mountain range on the edge of the North American/Caribbean tectonic plates, not swamp land submerged eons ago, necessary to change the organic material, covered and compressed over hundreds of millions of years to make the oil. Drilling fears are unnecessary.
Why McKeeva can just use the North Sound dredging to scoop up material to fill in the shoreline and interior wetlands. Seems Barkers isn’t too far away and it has undeveloped land. He can call it a jobs program for West Bay, assuming the residents there won’t go all NIMBY on us.
Let the rest of the world do what the rest of the world does. Sometimes doing the opposite i just what is required. People don’t want to vacation in places with smoke stacks. We”ll never compete on the level of industrialized nations. What you could have is a jewel for all of those people to get away from places they live that are like that. Places they hate to live in and dream about places like this for 1 or 2 weeks a year. First this place needs polished up. #1 get rid of the current administration because we can’t fix the #1 problem being the crime without an overhaul. Then Fix #2 which is really #1…the Crime. I am sure England would not mind if we offered suggestions and took initiatives to police our island back to a better state. You see, because what WE HAD is being destroyed that they are looking at ways to prop us up. It’s like taking a ruby from you, giving you back a dog turd and telling you it is great fertilizer so just go on out an sell it.
I cannot believe that this is being pushed again. As far as I can tell from those I speak to Caymanians do NOT want this oil refinery.
I do not see the purpose of this. Oil refiniries are typically built near the source of oil. What sense does it make in wasting feul to transport the oil to this island, to then transport it off again to those the proposed oil refinery will be supplying?
The other consideration is environmental. This is just a disgusting idea that will pollute our airs and seas. Not to mention that the entire world is looking at renewable sources of energy. The EU is undertaking directives to reduce the EU’s reliance on non-renewable energy. Why would we take a backwards step in increasing our dependence on oil? We need to move forward with the times.
In addition this idea that the oil refinery will create jobs is misguided. It will create jobs for more expats. Please do not get me wrong, I have nothing against expat labour. But please do not try to sell this oil refinery as a way to boost jobs for Caymanians. The jobs will be highly specialised and Caymanians will not be qualified for them.
Please please, stop with this campaign for an oil refinery. It does not go with our industries of tourism and finance. I wholeheartedly agree that we need to diversify our economy and the dependence on two sole pillars of our economy, but this is not the way!
who fills mac’s head with such nonsense?…he’s like the village fool who goes around ranting about any old rubbish which he has no idea about…..
its that time of the month…..big mac’s pie in the sky ideas….zzzzz
Oil refineries convert thick crude oil to everyday products like gasoline, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas and more. Even the cleanest refineries release a number of airborne toxins, such as benzene, chromium, and sulfuric acid. These airborne hazards dramatically increase the instance of serious health issues such as asthma, leukemia, cancer, and birth defects. In particular, the cancer and asthma rates in refinery districts exceed area, state, and national averages for decades (even after refinery closure). Oil refineries are the prime source of Volatile Organic Compounds that cause urban smog. Refinery waste when dumped or spilled on land can remain harmful to life for decades. Discharge of chemical byproducts and toxic sludge (regardless of whether deliberate or accidental) contaminate ground water, waterways and seas for decades. This is all well documented and studied by every grade school-level science student in the modern world, and why intelligent people don’t want this activity in their backyard.
Has anyone noticed that Elio is silent as a mouse in matters of importance? Has Elio given Mac this bright idea? How many of the stooges of the UDP’s MLA agree with Mac’s refinery? Do they have the guts to tell us where they stand on the issue?
Who Elio is? Is he the same person as that Capt. Eugene who hasn’t spoken in 20 years?
East End the new Industrial Park.
I guess the more he destroys the East End, the more rustic and attractive the over developed Seven Mile Beach area will look.
Great Plan O Great One.
Hummm, let me see. We have a crime problem that we have no idea how to address, debt coming out our ears and a financial services sector that is contracting.
How can we distract the population from these troublesome problems?
I know, give them some hair brained idea to discuss and argue over while also making those other problems seem tame in comparison.
Enjoy the beauty of Grand Cayman while it still exists. There has never been nor is there now enough home grown intelligence to keep the greedy from doing what they want with the island. All anyone can do is sit back and watch it happen and or tune in and listen to all the crying and complaining as it happens. Can’t stop progress but with enough intelligence it can be controlled. Grand Cayman will be just another lesson to the rest of the world as to what happens when the people of a nation are not brought up to take care of themselves and let others do it for them.
Just a thought…. imagine building a refinery with the same thought and effort that went into the never ending school fiasco.
Smart businesses won’t sink money into Cayman but greedy ones will.
Not even worth commenting on. I am going to start charging for wasting my time to read let’s go to the moon suggestions. I don’t own a mansion either.
The only thing good about a refinery would be to put mac in and get him refined. That might be the miracle that we so badly need. I think the only thing they have in common is that they both spue out hot air.
You can’t run Bambi and Deep-Throat in the same theater. Oil refineries and tourism/hospitals don’t mix.
Its two years so we need to re run the oil refinery deal. I would consider looking at larger projects designed to strengthen Cayman’s economy but only after the countries dire issues are addressed first.
Tell ’em about it in St Croix. USVI, home of the tenth biggest capacity refinery in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOVENSA
St Croix. pump prices aren’t that much lower than mainland USA, there’s ongoing pollution problems and over capacity in refining leading to big layoffs.
Apart from all that Mac is onto another clear winner with his core voters – all they gonna hear is ‘cheap gas and more jobs’ and ask no more questions apart from ‘When?’
That would very much depend on which version of Bambi you are referring to.
Why does he always sound like he’s talking/quoting right out of a 10th grade business studies when he speaks on economics? He has no idea himself what kind of negative impact an refinery will have. A refinery for this small of a country will never make any money just because of the sheer scale you need to produce and consume in order to make it economically viable. I hope this rediculous idea only makes it as far as his mouth.
An OIL REFINERY
Mac, you want to dirty up this clean country for your millionaire buddies? That’s what this dumb idea is all about am I right? This says a lot about your leadership qualities. They are stale and we need to move on to a better direction. I have yet to hear from your administration anything about solar or green energy. I guess that’s too simple. I am seeing throw-back leadership from you that aren’t beneficial to our country. No wonder you don’t believe in education. You are single handedly trying to destroy our environment for profit of others and I resent it. Your lack of leadership will be an issue in the next election. Count on it.
This is a SPECTACULAR IDEA! Now we will be able to locally refine our vast oil reserves, and won’t have to ship crude out of the country for processing! Oh, wait…..
We need to kick Mckeeva out, one way or the other
It has finally happened – he has gone around the bend and completely lost hhis sense of reality. Are we supposed to take anything he says seriously anymore?
To poster 09:14 how can you be so cruel to say that he has completely lost his sense of reality? I never once believed that he was ever in touch with reality.
This has to be the craziest scheme yet proposed by McKeeva
Pure pie in the sky, and if it did happen it would destroy the character of the Caymans and probably the tourist industry too
Good idea. Barkers is the prefect spot. Git ‘r dun’
I think we should build it immediately next to MacDinejad’s house.
That area already exceeds its quota of toxic waste.
erm….don’t mean to be a killjoy, but don’t you have to have oil to build a refinery? small point but…..
err no you don’t need to have your own source of oil at all. You can buy crude oil and have it refined. Macs idea is to cut out the middle man and refine the crude our selves thus lowering the fuel costs.
But I think looking at greener sources of energy is in everyones interest as the cost of crude is sure to continue to break records. With deep water drilling in the gulf being banned and unrest in so much of the middle east.
I am currently trying to build a sail that I can mount in the flat bed of my pickup truck, it wont be long before I can’t afford to put a full tank of gas in it.
Green energy is what we should be focusing on, which is why I propose a renewable wood-to-energy power plant. I’m rather opposed to the oil refinery idea, because they do take up so much space, but the quantity of wood harvested by clearing the forests to make space for the refinery, the Shetty Hospital, the new dump, the 450 acre East End quarry/port, the by-pass extensions and the West Bay road diversion, would be a great way to kick-start the facility. All this would be subject to environmental impact studies to minimize any damage to the environment, of course.
From Ecovandal. Are the thumbs-down because you don’t like my satire or because you actually think I’m serious? And are the thumbs up because you believe this plan would be a good idea? This is all very worrying. Thank God for the smiley faces!
Any one who has lived around an oil refinery would never want one here.
Cayman does not have enough land area to locate a refinery far enough away from anything, and getting enough land is impossible.
A refinery in the East would spew fumes all over the Island.
And an off shore refinery is economically impossible.
I would say that approximately 70% of Caymanians have no idea of they have right here under their noses. Many of you grew up here and do not travel a lot. For those of you who do…why do you want to be like the USA? If this island were clean, safe and run properly this would be the #1 Caribbean destination. If we continue down the path of development, no conservation, no effective approach to our crime problem we will all be crying the blues. Our politicians are a disgrace and while Rome burns they snatch what they can. A deal here and a deal there and then they dress it up like it is something good for us. To get us back to work for lesser opportunities then the better opportunities they already destroyed. We need to start opening our eyes. How do you feel when you think about refinery stacks belching smoke into the sky? How will you feel when the North Sound is dredged and the silt covers North Sound Reef? How about the imported labor? Then more imported labor to build more housing for the imported labor? How about the extra crime? After all it’s time to get what you can and that goes for everyone right? Then, and to a certain extent now Cayman won’t seem so attractive anymore. Sure we’ll have all our stuff, Job at the refinery, cut down some more forest to put in a new house. Then we will have all got our wish and be just like a big suburb of Miami. It is times to grab these bandits by the scruff of their necks, all of them along with the criminals and show them the door. All of you politicians think highly of yourselves. You like to hear yourselves talk. Practice giving speeches. What most of us would call a poser. In the private sector we sink or swim. A politician is all about smoke and mirrors, telling people what they want to hear. Most of you go in, especially the younger ones with a desire to make change and do good but soon find yourselves surrounded by the “don’t work too hard sonny because you’ll make me look bad” ‘s . The backbenchers “whatever he said I’m good with” don’t have anything to says. If government was a corporation it would fail. Most of the politicians would be fired for not doing their job properly. Businesses don’t get free money. We have to earn it by making good decisions, rewarding talent and letting go people who don’t cut it. It always amazes me how the talent is in the private sector because they can make more money but yet politics is smash and grab and the dereliction of duty that comes with it affects us all. Our home values, security and economy. When are our economy, security and unique ecosystem going to stop being some kind of high school project where “our leaders” fumble through the motions of learning as they go? To all the people who throw Garbage out of your window, politicians who think refineries are good and the criminals do us a favor and go to Miami. We don’t want you here. No matter how you dress up a pig it is still a Pig and we are not all stupid. We see you.
What I have observed here is that only foreign people sho come here want Cayman to stay like the days of smoke pan and logwood trade. This is mainly because foreign people have built mansions here and have escaped from the fast dangerous life and want to relax in peace an d tranquility. Now I do not see anything wrong with wanting that; but hello, Caymanians do not want to stay in the days of smoke pan and logwood trade. This is our Island, and we do not mind sharing it with you, but please do not come here, and because you own business and big mansions, tell us what we should have and should not have. That is foreign dictatorship. We dont want that.
Now stop shooting down the messenger before he can bring his message to his people. I do hope the few Caymanians who have internet see clearly what Iam talking about.
One more piece of, FYI. Many years ago a man from Texas somehow discovered that there was an oil vein in the Peace Bay, Bettys Bay area. He brought in oil riggs and began his mission, but like always there were a handful of foreign people who owned land around this area and complained that their peace and tranquility would be robbed. Of course Caymanians in that time frame thought the foreign people was Heaven sent and went along with the complaining foreigners to stop it. The man eventually died and the old oil rigg remained there for over 50 years, until Hurricane Ivan moved it. Ask hose of us who are 70 years or old. and hear what took place. This is our place please stop trying to take all of it away from us and controll what we do..
Smoke pan? Have you seen what kinds of cars are being driven on your roads? Mercedes, BMWs, Land Rovers, and so on. Hardly a poor, backward people. Logwood trade? One of the largest financial service centres in the world and with one of the highest standards of living in the region? The Cayman Islands has not been the country you are speaking of for almost a generation now. Perhaps you are simply blaming others for your own missed opportunities.
That having been said: while I am not from here, I own no mansion. I do (or at least did until recently) enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Cayman Islands. And I do not think drilling or refining oil in the Cayman Islands would be good for the Cayman Islands.
My family is from the midwest US. My grandfather and his brothers worked in refineries for many years. I have seen how a refinery can turn beautiful countryside into a nasty mess. I have smelt how a refinery can turn a warm breeze into a stomach-turning stench. There is no living near a refinery. That is just the nature of the industry and that is what you are arguing in favor of.
If you have no care for keeping the Cayman Islands as a beautiful place tolive and raise families and care only for how much money can be made by exploiting land and sea, that is fine. It is yours to ruin, not mine.
Lets build a nuclear reactor power station next to it!
It’s like listening to the fantastical mutterings of a four year old, "…and a Hadron Collider, and an Atomic Test Range, and a Spaceport, and a Wine Region, and…"
I promise to fall off my seat if W. McKeeva Bush ever gets around to suggesting a project that is even remotely non-destructive to the environment. We are well into the 21st Century, he needs to get with the program! Or perhaps he has a intergalatic space ship and another M-class planet stashed somewhere.
not a bad idea if proper safegauards are in place
National debt remains unresolved (note the remarks about lack of borrowing capacity)- and yet, he wants to spend millions more to further destroy the environment? We cannot even get one project completed on time, on budget! And what else is to be lost forever? Mangroves will not exist between the ‘developmental’ rape of the shores protected in part by them and pollution from the ships bringing in the oil – note, I have not included the damages to air quality, or the potential for oil spills of such magnitude that the entire island’s coast AND fresh water resources could be contaminated. Then the fisheries go, along with the Tourism backed tournaments, the cruise ships – and we become nothing more than a floating garbage dump. Forget the turtles and blue iguanas! Is that responsible leadership? Is this the big plan for the landfill finally becoming evident?
Sometimes I wonder what he’s smoking on all the paid for trips that produce nothing more than childish, immature schemes to get rich quick. Let’s count how many of these brilliant ideas have been floated in the past 12 months alone ……….
McKeeva should give the $1 million Permanent Residency sales a chance first..
Another 500 of them sold and we would almost be out of the hole. lol.
If McKeeva cannot see what he has in common with Mubarak and Gadaffi then here it is; the people are sick and tired of your senseless ranting while you enjoy a life of luxury and they suffer to support your lifestyle.
Mac Livin’ large on a constitution written by Alden… and trust me, Al can’t wait to jump into da seat.
When the time comes, don’t vote for none of them… so called career politicians… vote for the new-comer, with the fresh ideas.
22:59 That maybe your wish list. But you will get a big surprise. Trust me next election MacKeva Bush will be right back in that seat. Just because he is the right man for the job. You think you know Caymanians, think again. We are not saying much, but we are going to stick to the foolishness we know.
If the last election is any indication you should have ended your comment with "…foolishness." Period!
We voted for the newcomer with the fresh ideas the one name Elio Solomon and look at where that got us?! He has been silenced and placed on a very short short leash.
An oil refinery on an island once known for its natural beauty, how very sad, I wish the person that came up with this idea would take ownership of it, maybe an expert consultant, maybe a billionaire in the shadows, it certainly could not be anyone that has Cayman’s best interests at heart.
I am all for this. I believe we in Cayman need to diversify our economy and something like an oil refinery would be great. Give us two or three. They can even put a couple in my district of West Bay. The doom and gloom environmentalists need to be quiet and let us improve our economy. They are always complaining about us destroying mangroves, or turtles or other stupid things but never supporting common-sense ideas like this. Oil refineries are a good idea!!!
Not so fast there. If West Bay gets two then Bodden Town must get at least one.
As an inwiromentally conshus person, I am proposing that we dig holes to put the tanks in so the tourist can’t see them and complain. Mr. Dart should be happy to get the fill from the holes at a cheap price.
One small tank should be reserved for John John to cook fish tea in on weekends.
I am very sorry that you do not feel that the environment is worth saving. Environmentalists are not doom and gloom. This oil refinery is doom and gloom. Please open you eyes, this is going to destroy our other industries. This will not create jobs for caymanians. This is very specialised labour! why not advocate instead for a solar energy mechanisms on island. inevitably the environment does not need to be saved. in the long run the environment will not need to be saved, we will need to be saved. the environment will be able to adapt to whatever happens. we will not be able to. just before you make assumptions that an oil refinery is a good idea, please read and understand all sides!
You and your Unequal Destruction Perpatrators go jump is a cesspool please.
Let us live in peace in a place that is not destroyed and sold out.
Mac continue to ignore us and you will see how it will end.
Looks like he want’s to give the people of East End a choice……Oil Refinery or Mega Yacht Facility… 🙂
all of it is positive but hear what …..NO!!!
and “NO” is just my point of view……
please note this is not a political opinion or w/e but i just think NO!!
The world has a global warming issue….why not invest in something that can help that and the answer is not for CUC to invest in it with no help, but to start from the government to invest in it that can make it more known but an oil refinery….???
Mr Bush loves to talk, put forward lots of ideas, but to date none of them have come to fruition. What has he really achieved since returning to power?
A refinery? Really? Wouldn’t the country be better off investing in sustainable forms of energy?
Come on son…….
…. then we get what happened in The Gulf and say goodbye to the beaches, the dive and tourism industry…
It’ll cost the same amount of investment to go green… The Cayman Islands should be a test bed for green energy.. and green energy companies… isn’t that what the "Nerd Zone" is about?
Green Energy is how we lower the cost of living… and reduce pollution.
Why do we want to go back in time, instead of embracing the future?
who’s whispering in Mac’s ear? I wanna know, because I feel like I’m in the bloody Twilight Zone, te rahtid!
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, our own Caribbean Ghaddafi comes up with another gem.
Nurse. Nurse ! Where’s that strait-jacket ?
AGAIN? OMG! When will this man learn? We do not want it here, hasn’t he heard the Cayman people on this issue before? Is he a dictator or what?
YES!
Where have you been, all of us know that he is a wanna be DICTAtor long time ago.
Lets have a closer look at this! Could this be a new distraction tactic?
The AG’s obvious view is that the accounts submitted by Govt are not worth the paper they are written on. So lets not talk about our unverified expenditures or assets.
Instead lets focus on this new hare-brained oil refinery scheme. Nice distraction for the unwitting souls amongst us.
Who is advising this man with all these ideas?I am sure it is NOT coming from his fellow cabinet members as they sit idly by while ALL these decisions are made for them?While I am not surprised by some of this as it has been raised before I am worried about the "two islands that will have to be developed in that area as well"Sounds to me like gambling may well be introduced in the not too distant future.I know that gambling is big in China.Whats next Premier Bush?Please keep us all informed as we would love to see what our beautiful island will end up.becoming!!!!
Is there even oil down there?
I guess there would have to be exploratory drilling before we even know if it makes sense. Then of course we take into account small island depending on tourism add oil refinery somethings got to give. The two dont mix.
The refineries I am familiar with do not drill. The crude oil is piped or shipped in and then refined into petroleum products.
Would this not be the case here? I have never heard of untapped oil reserves lying beneath the Cayman Islands.
And of course, it is very cost-effective to ship crude to a foreign country (Cayman – the producers are foreign to us, and us to them), pay to offload (and pay Mac’s incoming tax), pay Cayman ro refine (we have no idea how to do this and will have to hire a swath of expats), the pay to reload and send the refined oil back to where the crude came from. Yeah, this will work great, nice business plan.
JB