Committee set up to evaluate bids for Trinidad's state-owned oil refinery

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited Wednesday said a 10-member committee had been appointed to evaluate the bids for the sale or lease of the oil refinery of the former state-owned company, PETROTRIN.

The refinery was shut down last November and last month the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries said statements made by the President General of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union, Ancel Roget, regarding a preferred bidder to operate the refinery that was shut down as part of the exercise to restructure the loss-making PETROTRIN, were inaccurate and intended to create an issue where none exists.

Trinidad Petroleum, which is the parent company of Guaracara Refining Co Ltd, the holding company created to manage the refinery assets, said the evaluation committee will be led by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Vishnu Dhanpaul.

It said the committee will evaluate all bidders and make a recommendation to the Cabinet on the preferred bidder and that the appointment of the committee will remove any requirement for Trinidad Petroleum’s board of directors to conduct the evaluation and selection since the committee will assume full responsibility for the selection of the preferred bidder,.

“Consequently, the Government has indemnified the Board of Directors of Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited from any liability that may stem from the decisions and/or actions of the Evaluation Committee,” it said.

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