Petrotrin refinery shut down

[De Dragon]

Any one who was in govt before should really stfu

The unions grip on operations was as a result of successive govts pandering to unions and incremental concessions given in order to calm political climates.
It was never about the Co.

Political interference at the top was a constant...as was politically connected people given sweet heart deals.

State run means that.
STATE run.

https://www.pemex.com/acerca/plan-de-ne ... ex2017.pdf

As a simple demonstration-look at PEMEX-which was in the same mess (ok probably still is) -they present and publish a policy/plan and set goals and targets.

Never happen in TnT

Seepersad Bachan was Minister of Energy at a time when the govt was cashed up and had the ability to begin a process of improvement.

But that never happen-its easier to pick he carcass for political mileage.

So hindsight and/or ineffective management when you were in charge prevents you from having and voicing an opinion? Does it lessen what is the foolishness of awarding a billion dollar, critical asset to people who've never even managed as much as a sno-cone cart before?

[Redman]

Ok
So whom among the 3 candidates would you have picked?
And why?
And since the union is yet to disclose who the partnered within terms of management and financing...how are you in a position to judge?

The statement in parliament clearly states that the terms allowed partnerships and are kosher.

So all these talking heads KNOW they asking questions that are clearly red herrings ....they KNOW better .

Does it lessen what is the foolishness of awarding a billion dollar, critical asset to people who've never even managed as much as a sno-cone cart before?

You should know better.
Well maybe not.

Why did who ever you work for hire you?
Did they possess your skillset already?
What do they do when they need a lawyer?
Get one?Hire one put one on retainer

What does every other company in the world do when they need a skill set?
The acquire it.

What did every government do when they came into power?
They replaced the management and whoever with their people.

What did gillette have to offer as Chair-or that reprobate Gosine as CEO?

So what you call foolishness is the basis for all hiring/outsourcing/contracting/subcontracting/entrepreneurship/innovation in the world-Corporate entities acquiring the most important resource-the one they dont have.

[kstt]

OWTU has shown us that all that prayers worked.

Give dem rope let dem hang themself.

[matr1x]

Anyone wants to talk about the 15mil. That was paid to the unions?


Or the agreement between heritage and owtu?

Or colm's little interest.

Just leaving in out there...

[Pointman-IA]

Candle going to cost more than the funeral.

Would be interesting to hear who are going to be the Senior Management personnel attached to Patriotic.

With the damage already done, how is Patriotic going to become a foreign exchange earner for this twin island state, with a refinery that is overloaded in a financial and operational crisis?

[De Dragon]

Ok
So whom among the 3 candidates would you have picked?
And why?
And since the union is yet to disclose who the partnered within terms of management and financing...how are you in a position to judge?

The statement in parliament clearly states that the terms allowed partnerships and are kosher.

So all these talking heads KNOW they asking questions that are clearly red herrings ....they KNOW better .

Does it lessen what is the foolishness of awarding a billion dollar, critical asset to people who've never even managed as much as a sno-cone cart before?

You should know better.
Well maybe not.

Why did who ever you work for hire you?
Did they possess your skillset already?
What do they do when they need a lawyer?
Get one?Hire one put one on retainer

What does every other company in the world do when they need a skill set?
The acquire it.

What did every government do when they came into power?
They replaced the management and whoever with their people.

What did gillette have to offer as Chair-or that reprobate Gosine as CEO?

So what you call foolishness is the basis for all hiring/outsourcing/contracting/subcontracting/entrepreneurship/innovation in the world-Corporate entities acquiring the most important resource-the one they dont have.

Don't be foolish and show it Red Kamla Bag.
If you want walls painted a basic one colour any neighbourhood Joe will suffice, but if you want walls built, an experienced mason whose work you, or someone can vouch for is the smart option. Tell me honestly, if someone came to you and said "I never built a wall in my life" would you hire them to do your walls? The PNM deep in you would say yes, skillset, blah blah blah, sheit, sheit, because once again, you are trying to paint this incompetent and highly dubious decision in a positive light because it is a PNM Cabinet decision.

[De Dragon]

Ok
So whom among the 3 candidates would you have picked?
And why?
And since the union is yet to disclose who the partnered within terms of management and financing...how are you in a position to judge?

The statement in parliament clearly states that the terms allowed partnerships and are kosher.

So all these talking heads KNOW they asking questions that are clearly red herrings ....they KNOW better .

Does it lessen what is the foolishness of awarding a billion dollar, critical asset to people who've never even managed as much as a sno-cone cart before?

You should know better.
Well maybe not.

Why did who ever you work for hire you?
Did they possess your skillset already?
What do they do when they need a lawyer?
Get one?Hire one put one on retainer

What does every other company in the world do when they need a skill set?
The acquire it.

What did every government do when they came into power?
They replaced the management and whoever with their people.

What did gillette have to offer as Chair-or that reprobate Gosine as CEO?

So what you call foolishness is the basis for all hiring/outsourcing/contracting/subcontracting/entrepreneurship/innovation in the world-Corporate entities acquiring the most important resource-the one they dont have.

Don't be foolish and show it Red Kamla Bag.
If you want walls painted a basic one colour any neighbourhood Joe will suffice, but if you want walls built, an experienced mason whose work you, or someone can vouch for is the smart option. Tell me honestly, if someone came to you and said "I never built a wall in my life" would you hire them to do your walls? The PNM deep in you would say yes, skillset, blah blah blah, sheit, sheit, because once again, you are trying to paint this incompetent and highly dubious decision in a positive light because it is a PNM Cabinet decision.
A refinery is not an OJT project.

[The_Honourable]

Pleasant Good Day to All,

In May 2014, the OWTU led by Mr. Ancil Roget introduced T&T to a man by the name of Mike Singh, and presented him as a representative of Greenpeace International who was here to investigate the effects of the La Brea oil spill and report back to Mr. Kumi Naidoo. Upon contacting the head office of Greenpeace for confirmation of Mike Singh's credentials, I was duly informed by their staff that "Mike Singh is not, and never has been, a Greenpeace employee, and does not represent Greenpeace in any capacity." Upon learning of this, Mr. Roget immediately dismissed the information, doubling down on the claims made by Mr. Singh stating, "we (OWTU) are satisfied in terms of his prior engagements on behalf of that international organisation (Greenpeace International)”. Of course, after learning that attorneys for Greenpeace were looking into the issue, Mr. Singh promptly exited the country, never to be heard from again.

I am bringing this back up today because, as the OWTU looks to close the deal with the government in purchasing the Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery it appears that the Mike Singh debacle has not dissuaded them from conducting business with unproven and questionable foreign entities. And there are not many persons whom I have encountered that I would consider more questionable or unproven than Mr. Morad Kara.

Morad Kara is a Middle Eastern businessman currently living in the UK, and mostly deals in the trade of commodities and wholesale goods. Mr. Kara owns several businesses, the majority of which are currently dormant, with the exception being MAK England Ltd. These companies include 'MAK Health Ltd', 'MAK Wool Ltd', and 'Ardec of Beckenham Ltd', all of which are dormant.

Now as many of you would be aware, the OWTU signed a MOU last year with "MAK ENGLAND LLC", which Mr. Kara is claiming is a separate entity to MAK England Ltd. Mr. Kara has not provided any evidence as to the existence of this LLC however, and a search of company registries throughout the USA is proving this to be false. That being said, it should also be noted that the address provided for "MAK England LLC" in the US actually houses a company named "Amsell Group Limited" which is in fact owned by Mr. Kara, but whose accounts also lay dormant.

I have been in contact with Mr. Kara for several days now in an attempt to divine information on his company and his track record in the field of petroleum marketing. Unfortunately, Mr. Kara has cited the non-disclosure agreement signed with the OWTU in refusing to provide any answers, despite the fact that I only asked for general information. As such, the information I am about to provide was all collected through public company registries, and thankfully has been confirmed to be accurate by Mr. Kara.

At the end of 2018, MAK England Ltd. had £54.963 in tangible assets and £90,755 in liquid assets. As a company that has been mostly dormant over the past decade however, their revenue never crossed £50,000 in a calendar year. Now you might be wondering how a company with such limited capital and resources, or one with so very few clients and revenue, came to attract the OWTU as partners for such a large acquisition as the Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery. Enter Odessa Major Organization Ltd.

Many might not be aware of Odessa Major, but it is a financial institution which has been operating quietly in Trinidad and Tobago since 2004. Odessa Major is managed by a group of investors from Florida, with its headquarters located in New York City, and their local office in Golconda, San Fernando. Since commencing operations in T&T, their services have been geared towards providing loans and capital investments for businesses including both TSTT and Digicel as well as providing used car loans for persons living and working in south Trinidad, including many former employees of Petrotrin.

Before MAK England was converted into an energy based company, its main trade was tactical equipment and gear to police and military organizations. In the seven years that it has been engaged in the petrochemical sector however, the acquisition of the Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery will be its first major project. Being a preferred client of Odessa Major however, MAK England was able to use this contact to negotiate the collaboration with the OWTU, despite having no proven track record in the field. And when you combine the limited experience and capabilities of both the OWTU and MAK England in managing such a massive endeavor, you then begin to foresee the disaster that might occur at the refinery further down the road.

When it was first announced that the OWTU would be given a three year moratorium followed by a ten year period in which they would be able to make payments for the purchase of the Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery, it was noted by many of the more fiscally astute that this appeared to be a measure taken by the government to hedge their bets.

From Ravi Balgobin Maharaj.

[Redman]

Ok
So whom among the 3 candidates would you have picked?
And why?
And since the union is yet to disclose who the partnered within terms of management and financing...how are you in a position to judge?

The statement in parliament clearly states that the terms allowed partnerships and are kosher.

So all these talking heads KNOW they asking questions that are clearly red herrings ....they KNOW better .

Does it lessen what is the foolishness of awarding a billion dollar, critical asset to people who've never even managed as much as a sno-cone cart before?

You should know better.
Well maybe not.

Why did who ever you work for hire you?
Did they possess your skillset already?
What do they do when they need a lawyer?
Get one?Hire one put one on retainer

What does every other company in the world do when they need a skill set?
The acquire it.

What did every government do when they came into power?
They replaced the management and whoever with their people.

What did gillette have to offer as Chair-or that reprobate Gosine as CEO?

So what you call foolishness is the basis for all hiring/outsourcing/contracting/subcontracting/entrepreneurship/innovation in the world-Corporate entities acquiring the most important resource-the one they dont have.

Don't be foolish and show it Red Kamla Bag.
If you want walls painted a basic one colour any neighbourhood Joe will suffice, but if you want walls built, an experienced mason whose work you, or someone can vouch for is the smart option. Tell me honestly, if someone came to you and said "I never built a wall in my life" would you hire them to do your walls? The PNM deep in you would say yes, skillset, blah blah blah, sheit, sheit, because once again, you are trying to paint this incompetent and highly dubious decision in a positive light because it is a PNM Cabinet decision.
A refinery is not an OJT project.

So if not OWTU which of the three finalist would you have selected.
And why?

Thereare experienced people out there....where did Barden come from?
How did NiQuan get to where they are today?


Your analogy is correct...it's possible that the OWTU can hire experienced people.

Isn't that what this month is for...for them to prove up their package?

You have not offered anything that all the bidders would not have dealt with long ago, and in the absence of information you pelting sheeit,also nothing new.

[De Dragon]

Ok
So whom among the 3 candidates would you have picked?
And why?
And since the union is yet to disclose who the partnered within terms of management and financing...how are you in a position to judge?

The statement in parliament clearly states that the terms allowed partnerships and are kosher.

So all these talking heads KNOW they asking questions that are clearly red herrings ....they KNOW better .

Does it lessen what is the foolishness of awarding a billion dollar, critical asset to people who've never even managed as much as a sno-cone cart before?

You should know better.
Well maybe not.

Why did who ever you work for hire you?
Did they possess your skillset already?
What do they do when they need a lawyer?
Get one?Hire one put one on retainer

What does every other company in the world do when they need a skill set?
The acquire it.

What did every government do when they came into power?
They replaced the management and whoever with their people.

What did gillette have to offer as Chair-or that reprobate Gosine as CEO?

So what you call foolishness is the basis for all hiring/outsourcing/contracting/subcontracting/entrepreneurship/innovation in the world-Corporate entities acquiring the most important resource-the one they dont have.

Don't be foolish and show it Red Kamla Bag.
If you want walls painted a basic one colour any neighbourhood Joe will suffice, but if you want walls built, an experienced mason whose work you, or someone can vouch for is the smart option. Tell me honestly, if someone came to you and said "I never built a wall in my life" would you hire them to do your walls? The PNM deep in you would say yes, skillset, blah blah blah, sheit, sheit, because once again, you are trying to paint this incompetent and highly dubious decision in a positive light because it is a PNM Cabinet decision.
A refinery is not an OJT project.

So if not OWTU which of the three finalist would you have selected.
And why?

Thereare experienced people out there....where did Barden come from?
How did NiQuan get to where they are today?


Your analogy is correct...it's possible that the OWTU can hire experienced people.

Isn't that what this month is for...for them to prove up their package?

You have not offered anything that all the bidders would not have dealt with long ago, and in the absence of information you pelting sheeit,also nothing new.

NiQuan is your example, really? A PNM con man who was a lobbyist for Patos and JUHN Scarfy and the PNM gets a sweetheart deal from his cronies, and ends up with a plant that he got for peanuts? Made all the more ridiculous because the very existence of NiQuan was through the horrendous c*ck up that was Malcolm Jones? Facking really? To summarize so that even you understand. PNM corruption brought about WGTL which cost us BILLIONS, PNM corruption resulted in Arse Wari then gifting Malcolm Jones total exoneration for said catastrophe. PNM corruption further ensures that the feeding frenzy continues with one of their cronies now running NiQuan.
PT is WGTL X 10, and will end up the very same way, because OWTU simply doesn't have the experience to even know what is needed to turn around PT. That kind of experience mind you, is very difficult to find locally, IF you want it.

[Redman]

If not the OWTU then which of the 3 bidders would you have chosen...and why?

NiQuan hired what they needed, brought in who and what they needed.
Barden,he came with experience.
Both of these are analogous of what we are discussing.

Who said locally.
Companies hire world wide.
Intel,Exxon,Tesla,Massy Tesco,MSFT,Yahoo all hire what they need.
From wherever they find it.

The bidders were all allowed to create partnerships in the instance where they won to ensure that they have what is needed....its public since last year that the union is looking outside for what it needs.
Hence the month to prove up.

Again you ranting without any thing new.

[De Dragon]

If not the OWTU then which of the 3 bidders would you have chosen...and why?

NiQuan hired what they needed, brought in who and what they needed.
Barden,he came with experience.
Both of these are analogous of what we are discussing.

Who said locally.
Companies hire world wide.
Intel,Exxon,Tesla,Massy Tesco,MSFT,Yahoo all hire what they need.
From wherever they find it.

The bidders were all allowed to create partnerships in the instance where they won to ensure that they have what is needed....its public since last year that the union is looking outside for what it needs.
Hence the month to prove up.

Again you ranting without any thing new.

When you held up NiQuan as an example, I lost what little faith I had in you. You simply do not know how large chemical facilities have to be managed to be viable. Learn from people who are in the industry, and not be an obstinate moron for once. The OWTU and Governments of T&T have never been willing to do what is required, namely run it like an actual business. Hence we have stellar performers like ISCOTT, PT and any State run industry
Any company NOT aligned to, or beholden to any entity locally would have been my choice, because those companies tend to view 700 million as a significant capital expenditure, and would have strategic plans to not only recoup their investment, but make a profit. Not everyone views BILLIONS of dollars lost because of shoddy management and governmental interference as "small ting" like the PNM did with PT. These companies tend to be accountable to someone, even the CEO, Chairman, unlike our usual Malcolm Joneses and Vasant Bharaths.

[sMASH]

the 'accountability' part is what lacking in the decisions. if ah man know he could get jam if the project dont pan out, or even goes over budget, it could be a highway or a road sign, he making sure he do a good job within time and budget.

[Redman]

If not the OWTU then which of the 3 bidders would you have chosen...and why?

NiQuan hired what they needed, brought in who and what they needed.
Barden,he came with experience.
Both of these are analogous of what we are discussing.

Who said locally.
Companies hire world wide.
Intel,Exxon,Tesla,Massy Tesco,MSFT,Yahoo all hire what they need.
From wherever they find it.

The bidders were all allowed to create partnerships in the instance where they won to ensure that they have what is needed....its public since last year that the union is looking outside for what it needs.
Hence the month to prove up.

Again you ranting without any thing new.

When you held up NiQuan as an example, I lost what little faith I had in you. You simply do not know how large chemical facilities have to be managed to be viable. Learn from people who are in the industry, and not be an obstinate moron for once. The OWTU and Governments of T&T have never been willing to do what is required, namely run it like an actual business. Hence we have stellar performers like ISCOTT, PT and any State run industry
Any company NOT aligned to, or beholden to any entity locally would have been my choice, because those companies tend to view 700 million as a significant capital expenditure, and would have strategic plans to not only recoup their investment, but make a profit. Not everyone views BILLIONS of dollars lost because of shoddy management and governmental interference as "small ting" like the PNM did with PT. These companies tend to be accountable to someone, even the CEO, Chairman, unlike our usual Malcolm Joneses and Vasant Bharaths.

You and your faith remain irrelevant.
The simple fact that you throwing the complexity of the refinery out as if its an unknown factor, is laughable.
Its been complex for the last 100 years.
For all its faults OWTU would have an idea-and again-the original bidding documents made it clear-alliances and partnerships are allowed.

"People in the industry"- as if like yourself they dont have their own bias-based on myopic political crap.

There are people in the industry available for hire.
All over the world.
Happy to come here and work.
All within reach of the eventual winner.

Deal with facts.
Fact is WE DONT KNOW who the OWTU will partner with in order to close the deal.
They have said they are in partnership with an foreign entity
They have said the financing is Equity/Debt
They have said these things repeatedly.

So their package will LIKELY include a management company coming in to run the shop -this is probably the equity component-no repayment and 100% risk in terms of failure.These are also the people that will have the missing expertise that you keep referring to as if it only exist locally.

There would also be a financier-the debt side-who in this global environment feels its a good bet.There are many pools of capital that will look at this as a great deal. It very well might be.

Both of these would have looked at the history and the condition of the refinery made professional assessments and come to a decision.
(Incidentally -this likely exactly the same way the other 2 bidders planned to do it.)

Both of these entities would-by having amassed the capital and ability to execute probably be the ones who HAVE done this type of thing while 'people in the industry' like yourself keep saying it cant be done.

So if it is we see these guys come forward under the Patriotic name-theirs is a more informed,material and relevant opinion, than these 'people' in the industry' that you convey your faith in.

[airuma]

Questions:
1. Can the OWTU/ Patriotic be both the employers and bargaining body for the refinery workers legally?
2. What happens if Patriotic makes things worse with the refinery and reduce the value of it further for the period of the moratorium?
3. IF and a very big IF, there is a change of government next year, can the contract with Patriotic be renegotiated or even cancelled?

[The_Honourable]

Questions:
1. Can the OWTU/ Patriotic be both the employers and bargaining body for the refinery workers legally?
2. What happens if Patriotic makes things worse with the refinery and reduce the value of it further for the period of the moratorium?
3. IF and a very big IF, there is a change of government next year, can the contract with Patriotic be renegotiated or even cancelled?

1. Conflict for sure since management will be the company "Patriotic" and the bargaining body will be the OWTU. It will be funny and ironic if cases reach the industrial court.

2. More than likely a faceoff in court, especially if the government changes. The details of the deal hasn't been set in stone yet so hopefully that question will be answered.

3. It can be renegotiated if both sides agree to it. If not, it stands unless OWTU/Patriotic fail in one or more of the clauses in the agreement where the government can then step in and terminate.

[Redman]

I believe that the union will have to confront the issues from the POV they should have adopted 30 years ago.
But it remains to be seen if Patriotic will become to the union what the state enterprises are to the PIP.

it will be much harder-external auditors(real auditors-not like chanka an dem)

hat said they are vocalizing commitment to that not happening

[rspann]

You mean that if they allowed it to run efficiently and without all the problems they caused for the last 30 yrs while they were the union? If they want it to succeed, they have to change their attitude first. Now they have to drop the worker /victim attitude and adopt an owner/employer attitude.

[Dizzy28]

I believe that the union will have to confront the issues from the POV they should have adopted 30 years ago.
But it remains to be seen if Patriotic will become to the union what the state enterprises are to the PIP.

it will be much harder-external auditors(real auditors-not like chanka an dem)

hat said they are vocalizing commitment to that not happening

What is a real auditor?

Just yesterday I was was reading up on tax inverisons in the US and saw where PWC was ordered to pay a fine for their involvement in the TYCO case back in 2002. A fine of US$225m for their negligence.

In Trinidad even the big 4 do as you pay them to do and not what should happen under GAAP

[Redman]

You mean that if they allowed it to run efficiently and without all the problems they caused for the last 30 yrs while they were the union? If they want it to succeed, they have to change their attitude first. Now they have to drop the worker /victim attitude and adopt an owner/employer attitude.

Well they blamed 1)Govt interference 2)Bad Management

Govt blamed 1)The union 2)The Management

So it seems we have a consensus as to the 3 main problems here:

1)The union
2)The Management
3) The govt.

That said the Union is the only one of the 'problems' that came up with a bid.

So yeah they have to adapt and then adopt the new approach.

I dont thinkl it will be a problem IF IF IF IF they structure the transaction,the operations and then their exit strategies properly.

Contextualize the size of operation-20B TTD per year(2017 financials claimed 4.5 for the quarter)

At the point where the business starts to spin off cash-the shareholding value/dividends/ financing arrangements/ trading arrangements are all areas where value can be extracted. Legitimately and legally.

With an IPO at the end of it-it should be the largest IPO in our history and the most relevant to our economy.

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

The government of Trinidad and Tobago couldn’t run their own asset but somehow that’s the union fault?

[matr1x]

I like upfront payments......deferred


Dotish us....

[The_Honourable]

The Refinery Deal: A Trojan horse?

By Mariano Browne.

For those un­fa­mil­iar with Greek mythol­o­gy, the Tro­jan horse was a ruse used by the Greeks to gain ac­cess to the city of Troy dur­ing their war. Un­able to en­ter the city of Troy by force, the Greeks pre­tend­ed to sail away leav­ing be­hind a huge wood­en horse con­tain­ing Greek sol­diers. The Tro­jans were per­suad­ed that the horse was a gift to the god­dess of war which would make Troy im­preg­nable and car­ried the horse in­to the city. At night the Greek sol­diers opened the gates and that was the end of Troy. Hence the say­ing, be­ware of Greeks bear­ing gifts. So too with the pro­posed sale to PECTL (OW­TU & Part­ners).

The Fi­nance Min­is­ter’s state­ment in Par­lia­ment on Sep­tem­ber 20 sum­marised the di­vest­ment process and the three bids se­lect­ed from the 77 re­spon­dents. The high­est bid came from PECTL with a nom­i­nal val­ue of US $700 mil­lion, sub­stan­tial­ly more than the two oth­er bid­ders; one pro­posed a lease pay­ment of USD$42,000 a month for 15 years and a 50 per cent share of prof­it there­after, and the oth­er sim­ply of­fered to pay tax­es. In short, PECTL made the on­ly re­al of­fer. For com­par­i­son pur­pos­es, us­ing the same terms as the near­est bid­der, OW­TU of­fered US$ 3.9 mil­lion a month for 15 years. A no-brain­er.

So “en­thused” was Cab­i­net with the pro­pos­al that it agreed to waive the up­front pay­ment and gave PECTL 13 years to re­pay the bid price with a three-year mora­to­ri­um (the Fi­nance Min­is­ter’s rec­om­men­da­tion pre­sum­ably). Al­so, the as­sets of Paria, the fu­el trad­ing com­pa­ny, were rolled in­to the deal. The same Paria that Min­is­ter Khan said was not for sale ear­li­er this year. Two for the price of one Kir­palani style, or the re­al­i­ty that Paria as­sets ought nev­er to have been seg­re­gat­ed as the re­fin­ery needs stor­age space?

PECTL in­di­cat­ed that its fi­nanc­ing would come from lever­ag­ing the re­fin­ery as­sets, a tall or­der for two rea­sons. First, the re­fin­ery as cur­rent­ly con­fig­ured pro­duces diesel fu­el of a low­er qual­i­ty than in­ter­na­tion­al stan­dards. To be prof­itable, the re­fin­ery must ex­port as the TT mar­ket ac­counts for on­ly 18 per cent of the re­fin­ery’s through­put ca­pac­i­ty. Op­er­at­ing the plant at a low through­put will lose mon­ey from day one. Sec­ond, the as­set can on­ly be lever­aged if PECTL has ti­tle. This re­quires the GORTT to pass ti­tle to PECTL be­fore re­ceiv­ing pay­ment as an in­ter­na­tion­al bank is un­like­ly to lend against the re­fin­ery as­sets if the com­pa­ny does not have ti­tle.

Dur­ing the mora­to­ri­um PECTL will con­trol the as­set, but not own it, giv­ing the com­pa­ny time to build op­er­a­tional cred­i­bil­i­ty. Will ti­tle pass to the com­pa­ny af­ter the mora­to­ri­um, or af­ter the 13 years? And what hap­pens if PECTL can­not make pay­ments af­ter the mora­to­ri­um? By then both lo­cal gov­ern­ment and na­tion­al elec­tions would have passed. Gov­ern­ment could safe­ly say that they gave the OW­TU an op­por­tu­ni­ty. This is OW­TU’s risk.

Min­is­ter Im­bert has ex­plained this “gen­eros­i­ty” stat­ing that “our pri­ma­ry fo­cus is to get it (the re­fin­ery) up and run­ning as quick­ly as pos­si­ble. We felt that if we re­lieved Pa­tri­ot­ic of that re­spon­si­bil­i­ty to go and se­cure the cash for the pur­chase, then they would be in a much bet­ter po­si­tion to raise the cash to restart the re­fin­ery," said Im­bert. “I urge the pop­u­la­tion to not say much” said Min­is­ter Khan not­ing that it is in the pub­lic's in­ter­est that the re­fin­ery be­comes op­er­a­tional again. (News­day)

There is the is­sue of TT’s fu­el se­cu­ri­ty as PECTL will have a mo­nop­oly. This will re­quire in­dus­tri­al be­hav­iour dif­fer­ent from that ex­hib­it­ed in Jan­u­ary 2017 when the PM rushed to give a five per cent wage in­crease to avoid a crip­pling strike. This re­mains a risk.

The clo­sure of the re­fin­ery and as­so­ci­at­ed ac­tiv­i­ties had a neg­a­tive im­pact on the econ­o­my af­ter the turn­around claimed by Min­is­ter Im­bert. By an­nounc­ing a deal be­fore the bud­get speech, he can now speak of im­proved eco­nom­ic prospects for 2020. It al­so pro­vides an op­por­tu­ni­ty to re­cov­er from the po­lit­i­cal fall­out caused by the re­fin­ery’s clo­sure. In ad­di­tion, he has al­so placed OW­TU on “pro­ba­tion”, its con­ti­nu­ity and rep­u­ta­tion de­pen­dent on op­er­at­ing the re­fin­ery prof­itably.

When ques­tioned on whether the deal would be good for the PNM’s elec­toral prospects in 2020, Min­is­ter Im­bert re­spond­ed: "If the com­pa­ny suc­ceeds in start­ing up and run­ning the re­fin­ery, it would be…a win-win for every­body.” And it could be a tro­jan horse for OW­TU.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/article/the-r ... 402fac53b5

[matr1x]

So what happened to the debt?????

[vaiostation]

Mariano toting badd for some years now...
If it was up to he, they would ah sell de refinery to some white man for a dollar.

[The_Honourable]

Mariano toting badd for some years now...
If it was up to he, they would ah sell de refinery to some white man for a dollar.

Nah, he sees through the BS especially from Imbert. Pnmites can't discuss with him economic matters as their brain matter is about kamla drunk and what dem indians doing. So the only way to discredit him is to say he have sour grapes and only preaching doom and gloom even though he gives solutions.

So what happened to the debt?????

More than likely, the debt was refinanced and transferred to Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited (TPHL) under the management of the Ministry of Finance. The government (taxpayers) will pay it off as usual.

[Redman]

What MBrowne puts forth is equally true for all the bidders.

And the risks are the same.

Again Beowulf,the Germans and Patriotic would all have direct and indirect access to some of the best advice available.

Given the values we talking about-that advice is a necessity.

So the reality is that to some extent the successful conclusion of a deal on the refinery would be self underwriting...meaning who ever puts money into the upgrade would have done a chit ton of analysis.

At that level the 3 final bidders probably have VERY similar plans, similar projections-and strategies.

Whatever we think of the OWTU, for them to get to the point of conclusion..some very smart well informed people have broken this apart and decided that they are a good risk.

[De Dragon]

What MBrowne puts forth is equally true for all the bidders.

And the risks are the same.

Again Beowulf,the Germans and Patriotic would all have direct and indirect access to some of the best advice available.

Given the values we talking about-that advice is a necessity.

So the reality is that to some extent the successful conclusion of a deal on the refinery would be self underwriting...meaning who ever puts money into the upgrade would have done a chit ton of analysis.

At that level the 3 final bidders probably have VERY similar plans, similar projections-and strategies.

Whatever we think of the OWTU, for them to get to the point of conclusion..some very smart well informed people have broken this apart and decided that they are a good risk.

Continue to push your "PNM knows best" propaganda. This whole thing smells of corruption, incompetence and political manoeuvring. Your whole theory would hold at least some water if the entire bid process was NOT PNM controlled. Hell, even the selection of a CoP is outsourced, but we let Dhanpaul and the rest of Colm's minions handle it and end up with OWTU? Typical PNM, manufacture a crisis like HDC, cost us aheap of money, and then ride in an convince Red Kool Aid Bag and the like to not only buy it wholesale, but to try to sell it to people with sense, unlike the typical PNM supporter.

[matr1x]

Smells of corruption????


It reeks. Stink like Marlene undies.

Where was the bidding process??
Who made the agreement?
What was the payback plan?

[De Dragon]

Smells of corruption????


It reeks. Stink like Marlene undies.

Where was the bidding process??
Who made the agreement?
What was the payback plan?

1) PNM bid rigging
2) PNM
3) Upfront, but PNM style, meaning 13 years to MAYBE see money from the "sale"