The contract, which has been the subject of controversy and backroom rows between ministers for the last few weeks, has now been formally registered.
There was a late push to abandon the lease renewal and to instead open it up to a full open tender process, but legal advice to ministers that they could be opened up to a lawsuit worth more than £10 million and the attachment of an Operating Agreement giving competition regulators a policing role in disputes between users swung the balance to signing the deal.
Infrastructure Minister Eddie Noel confirmed that the deal had gone through, and said that it was the right result for the Island.
He has faced enormous pressure over the last few days to pull the deal, with politicians angry that they were only briefed about the arrangement at the last minute, without the opportunity to properly scrutinise the proposals.
ATF, a competitor of Rubis, had also raised serious concerns about the profit margins involved and the willingness of CICRA to take action – they have revealed that on several occasions, their complaints have been rejected out of hand by the regulator.
Deputy Noel said: “This has been a difficult process and having received appropriate advice I believe that we have reached the right decision.
“The added protection that we have built into the relationship through the new Operating Agreement and the input of CICRA mean that Islanders can rest assured that there is an independent authority to ‘police’ the arrangements and arbitration remedies to resolve any disputes.
“As ever, the most important factor in fuel supplies is safety, followed by continuity of supply and then value. I am convinced that the agreement that we have reached offers all of those things.”