FORMER energy minister Kevin Ramnarine says Trinidad and Tobago is in a state of shock with the impending sale of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery to Patriotic Energies and Technologies Company Ltd (PETCL) which is fully owned by the OWTU.
And he has asked eight questions:
- Was this a political decision or an economic decision?
- Where is the OWTU sourcing $US700 million and who is going to supply that money to them?
- Why the need for a three-year moratorium on payments ? So our plant and equipment will be utilized for three years and depreciated before we get a red cent ?
- What is the cost of starting the refinery after it’s been down for a year and neglected since 2015?
- How is the refinery going to compete against US refineries which are getting cheap shale gas and cheaper crude oil and are in their golden age.
- What is the role of Trafigura in this entire deal ? They were mentioned by the Minister of Finance in his statement.
- Will the refinery be subject to the same rates of corporation tax that Petrotrin paid?
- Are we saying that the OWTU will now have the sole right to supply the country with fuel? How does that affect out energy security?
