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Trinidad's Petrotrin refineries back up
PORT SPAIN
Petroleumworld.com 10 12 07Processing plants at Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery cranked into operation yesterday after hundreds of workers returned to their jobs after staying away on Tuesday in a day of protest action.
The protest spurred panic buying across the country of the fuels produced by the refinery—super unleaded and premium unleaded gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, and kerosene.
Around 10 am yesterday, Petrotrin’s management team led by executive president Malcolm Jones and Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) executives led by president general Errol K Mc Leod met at the Petrotrin Learning Resource Centre at Pointe-a-Pierre.
After the four hour meeting, many workers returned to their jobs returning refinery and production operations to a state of normalcy. The Fluidised Catalytic Conversion Unit (FCCU) which processes refined crude oil as well as the Topping plants which break down crude for the FCCU, were up and running by mid-afternoon.
In an interview, Petrotrin’s vice president of human resources and corporate services Preston George said the meeting ended around 1 pm, after Jones agreed to address the union’s grievances.
“We had our meeting with the union this morning. It finished just before 1 pm. We discussed issues relating to operations as well as concerns raised by the union. We were able to find common ground,” George said.
Asked how soon the Petrotrin retirees would be given improved packages, George said he did not want to divulge specific details of the agreement. “I don’t want to go into details. The union raised their issues and some sort of understanding has been reached in terms of how to treat with these and other issues,” George said.
Asked whether safety conditions had been improved at the farmout and leaseout operations, George responded, “In terms of our leaseout and farmout arrangements and contractual agreements, they are required to follow Petrotrin’s Health Safety and Environment regulations. This has been reinforced and is part of their contractual obligations.”
As to how much Petrotrin had lost because of the shutdown, George said, “It did impact on day-to-day operations so evidently operating costs were affected. I don’t want to say it is still being tabulated, but I can’t say what were the operating expenses.”
George added, “The country should really not suffer for instances like these and we are happy that things have reverted to normal.” Sources said up to 3 pm, senior OWTU officials were involved in a meeting. At San Fernando, Penal and Debe, fuel supplies were normal at service stations. However, motorists were still seen lining up for diesel.
In a statement, Petrotrin assured the country that it is able to meet its commitments and contractual obligations.
Story by Radhica Sookraj from The Trinidad Guardian
Trinidad Guardian 11 10 07
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