Trinidad’s Petrotrin available to refine Guyana’s oil- Rowley

Last Updated on Sunday, 22 May 2022, 15:36 by Denis Chabrol

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister  Dr Keith Rowley on Sunday disclosed that the state-owned oil refinery, Petrotrin,  would be available to refine oil from Guyana now that the takeover deal is almost sealed.

“The discussion did involve the possibility that if Guyana has oil  and Guyana is interested with someone, who we have selected here or are selecting, then those conversations should take place. That’s where we are at the moment and it all has to do with a supply of oil to the refinery,” he told the media in Trinidad.

While he skirted the question at a news conference in Guyana, he told media on arrival back home hours later he recalled that at one time Petrotrin  was importing and refining 120,000 barrels per and losing US$5 to US$20 per barrel to keep the refinery going.

Energy cooperation is provided for in a memorandum of understanding inked and exchanged on Sunday between Guyana’s Foreign Minister Hugh Todd and the Foreign Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Amery Browne.

With a preferred bidder for Petrotrin’s operation now selected, he said Trinidad and Tobago would be keen on processing Guyana’s crude. “We always will be happy if the refinery is operating. It doesn’t have to be a government refinery to be a contributor to our economy but it all turns on the availability of oil which will not cost the people of Trinidad and Tobago significant losses,” he said.

The Petrotrin refinery has been shuttered since 2018, but by month-end Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited is expected to reveal the name of the already evaluated a preferred bidder to proceed with further discussions. While no price tag for overhauling Petrotrin was immediately available, Dr Rowley said it would be at a “not insignificant effort.”

At the time of closure, Petrotrin had the capacity to refine up to 140,000 barrels per day.

Though an oil producer, Guyana imports its fuels from various sources but oil pro0duced here is sold to buyers in the United States, Brazil and India. Guyana’s entitlement,  under the Production Sharing Agreement, has in the past been sold to India.