Energy minister tells new Petrotrin board failure is not an option

Energy Minister Carloyn Seepersad-Bachan on Wednesday installed the new Board of directors of the state-owned Petrotrin urging the new team to get to work "getting this company off its knees and strongly back on its feet."

Former energy Minister in the Panday UNC government Mr Lindsay Gillette is Chairman of the board. Aleem Hosein is Deputy Chairman. Other members are:

• Charles Baisden 
• Peter Inglefield 
• Carl Hector 
• Khemran Jokhoo 
• Arnold Ram 
• Reshard Khan 
• Krishendath Ramoutar 
• Rudranath Maharaj 
• Peter Burke

Speaking at the installation ceremony, the minister stated that she has given the new board a clear mandate on the new policy direction of the People’s Partnership Government, which she said is to chart a new direction for the energy company aimed at resuscitating its operations.

She said she has given the board "a very firm hand" to refocus and guide the turnaround process.

"Petrotrin has been plagued by a number of severe challenges and I feel it is important that we acknowledge some of those challenges if we are to make a genuine approach to cleaning up the company and setting it afloat to becoming a viable, stable and profitable entity," Seepersad Bachan said.

She said she has outlined some of the top priorities. These include the completion of a full audit of all Exploration and Development programmes to assess viability and value and to ensure that the nation is reaping returns from investments.

In addition she said he has laid out some ground-rules, giving the board the assurance that while the government will not micro-manage the company it will expect "regular, comprehensive updates on progress and clear signals of a turnaround within a reasonable amount of time."

She also told the board of her ministry's plan to launch a full, detailed vulnerability assessment of all of the company’s critical infrastructure. 

In addition she has mandated the board to begin strategizing with a view to setting appropriate performance targets for the company and to develop a performance assessment system for the company.

She also stressed transparency and accountability. "Petrotrin will no longer be a playground for friends of the Government, as it has become over the past eight years," she said.

"The Government of the People’s Partnership will not tolerate that kind of behavior and will not tolerate misbehavior at Petrotrin! I have a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and any form of corruption will be dealt with aggressively and quickly," she pledged.

Seepersad-Bachan noted that over the past years, questions have been raised from numerous sectors as to human resources practices and procedures. In that context, she said she has requested a review of the HR operations with a view to ensuring "this company has no ‘square pegs in round holes’."

The minister declared, "The Government WILL NOT tolerate any form of wrongdoing. The Government WILL NOT tolerate any abuse of process. The Government WILL NOT tolerate corruption or questionable business practices."

She said she feels confident that Petrotrin’s best days are yet to come. "We have a good team. We have a firm commitment...Failure is simply not an option."