UNC: Paria sale a slap in the face

Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee says the move to offer Paria Fuel for sale comes as a “slap in the face” to citizens who were still coming to terms with the nation’s “economic jewel”, Petrotrin, being torn apart by this present administration.

Lee was responding to chairman of Trinidad Petroleum Holdings (TPH) Wilfred Espinet’s statement that a Request for Proposals (RFP) has been issued for the newly formed Paria Fuel Trading Company.

Espinet said he could think of no strategic reason for the State to keep Paria Fuel as long as TT’s security of fuel supply and competitiveness of fuel pricing could be guaranteed. He said it was unfortunate that Government was choosing to operate as if these state assets and companies belonged to them or were private entities which they could “wheel or deal” as they liked.

Lee said these assets belonged to the people of TT and issues such as these which concerned the “people’s assets” should have been brought for discussion and scrutiny to the Parliament via the Parliament oversight Energy Committee which has not been convened since February 2018.

“This is the committee that should have been tasked to ask these new companies questions about their new business models and what would be done differently to ensure our resources are protected as well as properly utilised for the benefit of our citizens. In essence, inquire as to how they would operate differently from Petrotrin,” Lee said in a statement yesterday.

He said instead of providing answers on the timeline when these companies would become profitable as promised by Energy Minister Franklyn Khan, Government was placing them on the chopping block to be sold free of debt, free of unions and all other issues which now made them very financially attractive to the private sector.

He said the sale of Paria would mean the total removal of all subsidies and an increase in fuel prices.

However, economist Gregory McGuire said this was good news to him as it meant someone could restart the refinery so TT could call it its own again.

“The way I read this is that anyone interested in purchasing the refinery will in fact want to provide sale for the domestic market and have the freedom to import their own fuel. In that context there is really no role for Paria. The sale of Paria is in fact tied to the refinery and it is the logical thing to do. It is the economical and feasible thing to do because it enhances the opportunity of the refinery itself. Can you imagine someone operating a refinery and they don’t have the freedom to import fuel and are denied access to the domestic market?”