Category: general

Moonilal hits ‘alarmist’ Rowley: Paria not for sale

Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal has fired back at former Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, accusing him of generating propaganda and creating mischief as a strategy to announce his re-entry into the political arena. Moonilal claimed Rowley is positioning himself as a counter to a “very weak” opposition leader, Pennelope Beckles. Moonilal also made it clear there has never been any discussion regarding the sale of Paria Fuel Trading or its assets. “We have always spoken about reopening the refinery, and therefore that matter does not arise,” he said in a series of WhatsApp messages on November 18. “In 2019 the PNM government had put out an RFP (request for proposal) for the sale of Paria and then went sheepishly and embarrassingly and pulled it back.” Moonilal said, reflecting on Paria’s issues in 2019. A March 2019 Sunday Express article quoted then Paria chairman Wilfred Espinet, saying the company’s business, importing fuel for the domestic and regional market, was not profitable and would need to be divested. Former energy minister Franklin Khan on the matter said any request for proposal for the sale of Paria Fuel Trading was “inadvertently issued” and would be withdrawn. Khan added, “I wish to make it clear the divestment of Paria Fuel Trading Company is not in the current mandate given by the government to Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd (Paria’s parent company).” Moonilal described Rowley’s comments as “most irresponsible and alarmist, calculated to create panic among the citizenry.” He criticised Rowley’s suggestion energy installations could be at risk given US initiatives in the Caribbean. Moonilal said multinationals already have detailed contingency plans. “If we took Rowley seriously, everybody would go and stock up on toilet paper, face towels, and water.” He reiterated and stressed multinational corporations overseeing offshore installations are accustomed to “such tensions” and have well-established protocols in place. “The scaremongering of Rowley, in particular, is unfortunate given his sorry track record with respect to the energy sector.” Moonilal discussed the Rowley-led government’s record, saying under former energy minister Stuart Young, 13 energy plants were closed, resulting in the lowest oil and gas production in a generation. “His report card on energy includes the ill-advised and unjust closure of Petrotrin, the NiQuan debacle, and many other failures,” Moonilal said. In June 2023 Allanlane Ramkissoon died in a fire and explosion at NiQuan, which revealed multiple safety lapses, including poor training, missing emergency protocols, malfunctioning alarms, and slow emergency response. Reports noted Ramkissoon was not using a safety harness, the fire alarm did not trigger, and the night shift had never conducted emergency drills. Transparency around an earlier April 2021 explosion investigation was also lacking. NiQuan faced serious financial difficulties, including a court-ordered payment of $21 million to former vice president David Small for breach of agreement. By 2024, NiQuan had terminated 75 employees and mothballed the GTL plant due to lack of operating funds. He added Rowley and Young presided over the closure of Train One at the Atlantic LNG facility, the Yara plants, methanol plants, and other major downstream energy plants. Moonilal further accused Rowley of undermining national security, saying Rowley returned helicopters purchased under the People’s Partnership. “They presided over the collapse of the Coast Guard fleet and refused to establish any broader border-protection agency. They refused to establish any agency to protect our borders, and he has no legitimate or justifiable reason for doing so.” Moonilal accused Rowley of spending his time in office playing golf and now engaging in “feeble interactions” with the national community. “They ought not to be speaking in this way, creating mischief and propaganda, and seeking to undermine confidence in the energy sector,” Moonilal concluded. The post Moonilal hits ‘alarmist’ Rowley: Paria not for sale appeared first.