Government is assessing investor proposals for a phased restart, as the long-delayed refinery project advances towards a possible revival.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad and Tobago Government says it is moving ahead with plans to restart the Petrotrin refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre, nearly eight years after the facility was closed. Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo announced during the presentation of the 2026/2027 national budget on October 12 that the Government was advancing a phased restart of the Guaracara refinery after receiving a comprehensive report from the Refinery Restart Committee. He said proposals from a shortlist of local and international investors were being evaluated, with the administration seeking a commercially viable, fully financed arrangement that protects the national interest.
The proposed revival represents a significant undertaking for the country’s energy sector and for communities that depended on the refinery for employment and business activity. Petrotrin ceased refining operations on November 30, 2018, amid mounting debt and operating losses. The previous administration had cited approximately TT$12 billion in accumulated debt and losses of about TT$8 billion over five years. The closure also left Trinidad and Tobago relying on imported refined petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel, after previously exporting refined products. The Government has presented the restart as an effort to strengthen fuel security and restore economic activity in communities from Couva to Cedros.
The process, however, still requires a suitable operating partner and a financing arrangement capable of supporting the refinery’s rehabilitation and long-term operations. On October 13, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Dr Kennedy Swaratsingh said the Government was preparing a procurement process to identify the appropriate partner during the current fiscal year, following earlier exploratory discussions with interested parties. The proposed phased approach is intended to make the restart manageable, but the scale of the rehabilitation, investment requirements and commercial viability will be critical to determining how quickly the refinery can return to production.
Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), Caribbean Today, Jamaica Observer, Nationwide News Network and Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT)