The Tribune

AFTER three years and 1.3 million man-hours, BORCO (Buckeye Bahamas) celebrated the work of both local and international contractors in completing BORCO’s recent expansion.

The 4.7m barrel expansion was originally slated to be built by an international engineering, procurement, and construction consortium, but Buckeye, after acquiring BORCO in 2011, decided instead to build with local teams and American engineering.

“This was a very successful project and we made a great decision undertaking it,” said Joe Sauger, Buckeye’s senior vice-president of engineering and construction services.

Mr Sauger noted that not only did the project finish ahead of schedule, but it was under budget with no major incidents.

“It is with profound thanks that I am here tonight to celebrate the great work done by the companies and team members that made this project happen.”

During a dinner at the Grand Lucayan Resort, 25 companies were commended for their contributions to the three-year project.

Nathan Werner, director of optimisation, BORCO Operations, applauded each team member, safety officer and company for their part in making this venture happen. All were rewarded with a plaque showing an aerial view of the plant, each picture depicting the area in which the team worked.

“I actually helped build the original BORCO and learnt my craft during this time,” said Vincent Dean, of RD Mechanical Engineering, when asked about his participation on the project.

Now he owns his own company and he and his staff were contracted over the three years the expansion project was underway to work on the fabrication and installation of piping, stripping pumps, and access platforms as well as some mechanical work on the offshore jetties.

“I am honoured to be a part of this project and pleased that my 14 staff and I were part of the Bahamian team to make this happen,” he said.

Closing the evening was Khalid A Muslih, Buckeye’s president of global marine terminals. “We want to thank everyone here tonight for their collaboration on this project,” said Mr Muslih.

“This project is absolutely monumental and we are indebted to you.”

Mr Muslih noted the statistics of this $200m project where 16 tanks were built, 25 miles of pipe laid, 2,500 cubic yards of concrete placed and seven hundred tons of steel erected.

“Tonight we celebrate the power of collaboration,” Mr Muslih said.

“To embark on this journey took courage, commitment and confidence. This is no small task, this is a world-class operation and it was built using a majority of Bahamian contractors who were paid over $150m for their work. Buckeye was a company with successful domestic terminal and pipeline operations. With our decision to acquire BORCO, we diversified and entered the international arena. We now are poised for additional growth in global marine terminal operations.”

In closing, Mr Muslih noted that the BORCO facility is now Buckeye’s largest terminal.

“With our flagship here and our hub in New York, we are highly confident about our growth. Stay tuned for more because I now know that if we dream it - you can build it!”