President General of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget says the trade union remains optimistic in its quest for ownership of the Petrotrin refinery, calling on government to return to the table for discussion. 

He made the call during a press briefing on Sunday, held one day after government announced its rejection of the proposal submitted by the Patriotic Energies and Technologies Company Limited (PETCL), which is owned by the OWTU.

Admitting the announcement “took him by surprise”, the OWTU leader questioned the reasoning behind the rejection of the proposal, replaying a past clip of Finance Minister, Colm Imbert, stating that the union had met the detailed requirements for acquisition of the million dollar asset. 

On Sunday, Energy Minister Franklin Khan said there were three outstanding concerns of government which had not been satisfied. They are the issues of purchase price financing, restart financing and the question of who will be given first priority lean on the asset.

Mr. Roget is now calling on the independent Valuation Committee set up by Cabinet, to review their proposal to identify where the alleged shortcomings were. 

He also rejected the Minister’s sentiment that the proposal was the “final” one from the OWTU, saying the union is willing to meet with government to resolve any issues blocking the sale. 

“This is not about the OWTU, or Patriotic. This is about Trinidad and Tobago,” Mr. Roget said, condemning any possible plans for a foreign company to be given ownership of the asset.