Energy Minister: We are not selling out Petrotrin’s acreage

“I just want to state that the union misrepresented the facts,” Khan told reporters during a news conference at the ministry’s head office, International Waterfront Complex, Port-of-Spain.

“The Ministry of Energy is not putting Petrotrin’s acreage for bid. Petrotrin has its acreage. It has a responsibility to develop its acreage and also has a responsibility to its shareholder, the people of Trinidad and Tobago to run a profitable enterprise.” At a news conference on Thursday last, OWTU president general Ancel Roget claimed that the committee set up by the Government to restructure Petrotrin was a ruse and that the State-owned company was surreptitiously moving to sell off the company’s assets.

Roget also wondered if selling off Petrotrin’s assets was a recommendation of the restructuring committee, which handed its report to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on June 1.

Khan said yesterday the ministry, on behalf of the Government, has offered only open acreage for competitive bidding.

“We don’t offer Petrotrin acreage for competitive bidding but open acreage. That has been a longstanding model of development of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

It is called the competitive bid round.” The minister said the last series of competitive bidding for off-shore and deep water blocks was in 2013.

“What we (Government) have gone out to the market on is our competitive bid round 2017, the first phase of which is an expression of interest, you will say what blocks you think you will be interested in and then the second phase of the programme,” he said.

“We will be offering data packages for sale. You can evaluate the data. You can evaluate the prospectivity of the acreage and then make a structured bid to have it.” Khan added: “This is what keeps the industry alive. You have to continuously put acreage on the market to foster exploration.

“In the exploration and production business, it is a challenge to keep ahead and this country should complement itself that we have been in the oil business for 100 years and still surviving” He attributed the country’s success in the oil sector to prudent and proper management, especially in the post independent period.

However, Khan said since 2006, Petrotrin no longer had the right for deep acreage in its core assets.

“That is the acreage that has been put out for competitive bidding by the Ministry of Energy sand Energy Industries.” Khan said the first phase, expression of interest, closed off yesterday.

“We will evaluate the interest and then we will determine what blocks will actually go out for competitive bid,” he said.

“We hope to have that bid round in full swing at the fourth quarter of 2017. It is a buyers’ market because oil prices are low. We still hope because of the nature of the acreage, we have on offer, and will be getting fairly competitive bids.” The minister also said the report of the Petrotrin restructuring committee was presented to the Standing Committee on Energy on June 21.

“I want to state categorically that at no time did I or any other minister including the Prime Minister attempt to influence what was written in the report,” he said.

“We did not appear in front of the committee and the recommendations of the report was on the sole judgement of the committee.” Khan said a follow-up meeting is scheduled for 10 am today at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair.

“I want to categorically state that the government, through the prime minister, the Minister of Energy and Energy Industries or the Cabinet has taken no decision to date on the Petrotrin report,” he said.

“All options are being currently evaluated and I want to further state that nothing is off the table. These decisions that have to be taken on Petrotrin calls for deep analysis and some prudent business judgement.

But I want to further state that nothing is off the table.”