Danville Walker has divested his interest in an entity holding $23 billion worth of shares in West Indies Petroleum Terminal (WIPT), in taking up the top job at Jamaica’s state-led refinery, Petrojam.
“I divested my interest in that company,” Walker told the Financial Gleaner on Monday. “The Jamaica Stock Exchange was advised.”
The board of directors at Petrojam appointed Walker as the company’s general manager, effective July 1.
Walker’s departure from WIPT was formalised in a resignation letter to the company’s chief executive officer, Charles Chambers, effective June 30. In it, Walker resigned as senior vice-president of West Indies Petroleum Limited and from all positions held within its subsidiaries and affiliated entities, including WIP Terminal, according to previous media reports. But there was no mention of his connection to the shares.
Walker, through his association with World Energy Solutions Ltd, WESL, was listed among the top 10 shareholders of WIPT with over 2.23 billion shares. Walker said that he “did not personally hold [the shares but] was the beneficial owner”.
The Financial Gleaner was unable to establish the ownership of WESL, as the company is not listed locally, and attempts to identify its shareholders were unsuccessful. Walker did not immediately respond to queries on ownership.
WIPT went public on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) in December 2025 which disclosed the top holdings. Overall, WIPT is valued at $116 billion in market capitalisation when all 11.18 billion shares are tabulated.
Shares were valued at $0.50 at the time of listing, which valued Walker’s connected stake at $1.1 billion upon listing. Shares, however, rose quickly and peaked at some $12.27 in January 2026. The share price closed at $10.36 after Monday’s trading, putting the total market value of the shares held by WESL at well north of $23 billion. Shares in WIPT have generally traded on low volumes.
neville.graham@gleanerjm.com
