By Chantalé Fletcher
PRESIDENT of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget describes the closing of the Petroleum Company in Trinidad and Tobago (Petrotrin) and shutting down of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery as one of the worst economic decisions ever made.
“Say no to fuel increase. It matters not matter if you own a vehicle or not, you will be impacted by the cost of fuel,” he said.
This was the message of Roget at a press conference on Tuesday, as he showed Heritage’s failure to stabilise production.
He said there was a decline in oil production by 18.3% from 42,855 under Petrotrin to 34,981 under Heritage.
Roget said, “Under Heritage oil production declined 18.3%, offshore Trinmar decreased by 15.4%, it went from 21,468 to 18, 146 under Heritage.
“While on land, it decreased from 17.4% moving from 12, 725 barrels per day under Petrotrin Land North East arceage to 10,510.”
He said that Heritage’s oil production had fallen.
The trade union leader said, “This means that Heritage was now selling crude oil directly, so if the oil production fell, the Heritage revenue would also fall and so would the country.
“You have no control over the prices but you have control over the production.”
Roget said citizens had to experience greater hardship as a result of the blunder of the Government.
He said “So, you’re using foreign exchange earned from Heritage to buy crude in the US and sell it back in TT here which does not make any sense.”
Roget said billions were lost in Train One of Atlantic LNG and there was a great drain on foreign exchange in different parts of the economy that the prime minister would not talk about.
However, Roget said, “But what he would do is tell you that they are going to remove the subsidy, which would be mitigated if you had a refinery producing your own fuel here.
“And as they remove it, you are going to pay $2 (more) per litre.”
He stated Barbados, which was not an energy economy, had announced that citizens would pay less for petroleum products, while in T&T citizens continued to face pressure.
Roget said, “The one per cent quality of life would have improved, however, the 99% of our lives deteriorated as a result of bad decisions made by the Government.”
Roget saidd, “If Petrotrin and the refinery were in operation the country would have earned more foregin exchange.”
