Couva chamber wants transparency on refinery deal

Pointe-a-Pierre refinery
Pointe-a-Pierre refinery

While applauding government’s decision to select the OWTU's Patriotic Energies and Technologies Co Ltd to buy the Guaracara Refining Company and Paria Fuel Trading Company, the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce is asking for all aspects of the purchase to be carried out in a “transparent manner.”

Finance Minister Colm Imbert had announced that the union’s was the only of the three )shortlisted companies to propose upfront cash. The union’s offer was US$700 million.The other two companies were Beowulf Energy and Klesch.In a media release yesterday, the chamber observed that Patriotic would be granted a three-year moratorium on all payments of principal and interest towards buying the refinery.

Patriotic would also be given a further ten years to complete the payment of the US$700 million it offered.The chamber noted that a Republic Day statement by the union said it has been at the “forefront of insisting on transparency and exposing corruption at Petrotrin.”“In view of this, the chamber is pleased that Patriotic Energies and Technologies Co Ltd has been selected as the successful buyer for the refinery. Moreover, the chamber feels assured that the OWTU is placing transparency as a high priority.

“Taking note of the union’s commitment to transparency, the chamber is requesting information about the nature of the purchase of this refinery, the time table for the start-up and operations of the Refinery, the markets that will be served, and the risks and fall-outs that need to be addressed.”

More importantly, it said the chamber is calling for "all other critical legal procedures" in the transfer of Petrotrin to Patriotic to be handled in "a very transparent manner.”The chamber said transparency must also be a top priority for the government and cited the failed Tobago Sandals project, saying this had been scrapped due to a perceived lack of transparency in the deal.

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"Couva chamber wants transparency on refinery deal"

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