Malcolm Jones has resigned as chairman of the state oil company, Petrotrin.Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan said Friday Jones handed in his resignation earlier in the week.
She also confirmed that Jones has resigned from the National Gas Company (NGC) and the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC). Jones served as executive chairman from 2003 to 2009 and then as chairman until Monday, when he tendered his resignation.
The energy minister also announced the resignation of Lawford Duprey as chairman the National Petroleum board.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters Friday that there will be a forensic audit of Petrotrin. She said there are grounds for "suspicion of misconduct" at the company that are similar to what happened at UDeCOTT.
Seepersad-Bachan said she is still being briefed Petrotrin's financial obligations regarding both the Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) and Gas Optimization Project (GOP) projects.
Commenting on the GTL issue, the Prime Minister said Petrotrin is experiencing serious financial difficulty "which has been attributed to high cost overruns of its refinery upgrade and the situation has been further exacerbated by the GTL 12 billion lawsuit by GTL Incorporated."
Related story: US$2B lawsuit filed in NY against Petrotrin
The Gasoline Optimization Programme (GOP) is a highly controversial project that is reported to have suffered serious cost overruns because it was not properly conceptualized.
It started off with a projected budget of $350 million and is now estimated to cost
$1.3 billion. The energy company considers the GOP one of several strategic initiatives to meet changing market demands and ensure the company’s survival.
No comments:
Post a Comment