The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net FREEPORT - The Bahamas Oil Refining Company International (BORCO) yesterday said a restructuring had resulted in the termination of an undisclosed number of Bahamians at the oil storage facility on West Sunrise Highway. In a press statement released to the media, BORCO announced that to meet the needs of the changing market it has reorganised its structure, affecting various positions and employees at each level of the organisation. Labour officials in Freeport were not aware of the terminations, and it is not known how many Bahamians were affected. BORCO said the affected employees received retirement and severance packages in accordance with the labour laws of the Bahamas and company policy. "We continue to create opportunities for highly skilled, talented, competent, hard working Bahamians. We remain committed to positive growth and development of the company and our employees," BORCO said. "We are investing more than ever in our history in our employee development through our newly-established technical training programmes, team development training, customer service training, leadership training, etc." According to the statement, some 340 Bahamians are currently employed by construction and maintenance contractors on various projects at BORCO, in addition to the 174 Bahamians employed in the terminal's operations. The company also said it anticipates hiring additional staff during 2012 for certain technical and operational positions. "Additionally, we intend to continue our focused sponsorship of the BORCO Foundation for the education and skills development of other Bahamians," it added. BORCO noted that some of the first graduates of the welding programme are employed with Bahamian companies that have been contracted to undertake its expansion programme. BORCO said it remains committed to the island's economic development in line with previous announcements. The company is well underway with its expansion project, with the first phase targeted for completion in the second half of 2012. The first phase in the immediate-term expansion will add 3.5 million barrels of storage capacity, while the second phase would add an additional 4.4 million barrels, brining the additions to a total 7.9 million barrels. "We believe our employees are our most important asset. We again want to take this opportunity to thank all our former teammates for their immeasurable contributions, and wish them every success in their future endeavours," the company said. BORCO is strategically positioned to act as a hub in facilitating international logistics and trade for bulk-build, break-bulk and blending operations. In early November it commenced operations at the newly-constructed inland dock, and can handle a range of vessels from small barges up to Panamax size tankers. The dock is capable of loading and off-loading fuel oil and clean petroleum products, and is fully connected to the terminal tank farm and to the offshore jetties.