PM appoints Petrotrin committee

The committee which is chaired by Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Selwyn Lashley, is tasked with making recommendations for the restructuring of the company. The committee is scheduled to submit its first report by June 1. Other members of the committee are former Independent senator Helen Drayton; Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) representatives David Abdulah and Gregory Marchan; Robert Riley, head of Safety and Operational Risk, Competency and Capability Development at the BP Group in London and Professor Chandrabhan Sharma from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.

Speaking in the Senate on March 7, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said Petrotrin, “currently owes the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) $1,780,506,782.52.” On March 6 in the House of Representatives, Imbert said that an undisclosed $4.2 billion deferred tax asset, which was not shown in Petrotrin’s accounts, could result in the company recording audited losses to the tune of $4.5 billion in 2016 rather than the previously disclosed estimate of $600 million. Imbert, who is also acting Energy Minister, previously indicated Government is reviewing proposals for restructuring from the OWTU and the company itself.

OWTU President General Ancel Roget has claimed that Imbert’s statement on March 6 was an attempt to justify Petrotrin’s privatisation.

Former government ministers Kevin Ramnarine and Vasant Bharath have also questioned the figures which Imbert mentioned last week in the House and Senate.