Khan: Petrotrin’s closure an act of love, not hate

ENERGY Minister Franklin Khan accepted a notion that “political interference” could have caused the demise of state-owned Petrotrin, and pledged that his government would stay away from the day-to-day operations of the restructured companies.

Months after Petrotrin was closed and its employees, the majority who lived in the fence line communities, were retrenched, Khan promised, “the south-west peninsula will boom again. I give you that assurance.”

He was put in the hot seat on Thursday at the Conversations with the PM event at the Palo Seco Government Primary School, when the Prime Minister was a no-show. Dr Rowley was involved in a teleconference Caricom heads of government meeting on the crisis in Venezuela.

Responding to a barrage of questions, Khan apologised to residents affected by Petrotrin’s closure, saying it was an act of love, not hate. He even took blame for some of the temporary and causal workers being sent home without any benefits.

Khan identified the former Trinmar as “the goose that laid the golden egg” but did not get the capital injection it required. He said the aim, by the end of the year, is to boost oil production from 34,000 to 42,000 barrels of oil per day, up to 60,000 2022.

He said opportunities will be created through the new companies created from the restructuring exercise – Guaracara Refining Company, Paria Fuel Trading Company, and Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd. He said it did not matter if people would be working for Petrotrin or Heritage, but what mattered was that they were working in the energy sector.

Khan said special privileges would be given to people in the fenceline communities as government develops other industries, including the dry-docking facility at La Brea. However, he advised there would be no handouts. He urged potential employees not to go after “menial” jobs alone, but get certified, as highly technical skills would be required.

Most importantly, he said, what is required is a change in attitude and good work ethics.

Promising to give truthful and honest answers as to the state of play, Khan took personal blame for former employees who “slipped through the cracks,” including one man who said he worked for 33 years but went home “without a cent.”

“I take the blame,” Khan said, explaining a fair formula was used to determine who among the temporary and causal workers were entitled to termination benefits.

“The company could not afford to pay every single person who made a ten-days in Petrotrin, a termination benefit.” He promised to look into a similar complaint brought by Althea Bruno who worked at the Petrotrin Sports Club for 27 years, but also went home with her “hands swinging.” Bruno said the company was attempting to “disown” employees who worked at the various clubs at Fyzabad, Pointe-a-Pierre, Forest Reserve and Point Fortin, claiming they were not Petrotrin employees. The minister said he was aware of the situation in a letter which was copied to him.

Sharing the platform with Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte, Housing Minister and Point Fortin MP Edmund Dillon and La Brea MP Nicole Olivierre, Khan stoutly denied the claim by one contributor who said Petrotrin was profitable.

“Petrotrin was not making a profit. Petrotrin was losing approximately $2 billion a year because it was an integrated oil company involved in marketing, refining and exploration and production. When we analysed the entire business, we realised it was not sustainable in that construct.