US orders chemicals removed at Virgin Islands oil refinery

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the removal of thousands of pounds of chemicals from an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The agency anhydrous ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and liquified petroleum gas must be removed from the refinery in St. Croix, where pipes and valves are severely corroded and in disrepair. The refinery jointly owned by the U.S.-based Hess Corporation and Venezuela’s state-owned oil company was the largest in the Western Hemisphere at one point. But it lost money and was sold off. The EPA suspended its operations last year. The current owners did not return a message seeking comment on Monday’s removal order.