(Trinidad Guardian) Energy and Energy Industries Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal says representatives from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) are expected to visit Trinidad and Tobago after the Carnival season to provide technical advice on restarting the Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery.
The refinery, formerly operated by Petrotrin, was mothballed in November 2018 as part of a restructuring exercise.
Moonilal yesterday said the decision for IOC to visit was agreed to in principle during the India Energy Week in Goa from January 27-30. He led T&T’s delegation to the conference, where discussions focused heavily on the future of refining at Pointe-a-Pierre.
Beyond long-standing partners BP and Shell, Moonilal said the delegation held talks with several international companies on the prospects for restarting the refinery. Among them was the IOC. He described IOC as India’s largest state-owned integrated energy company, operating across the hydrocarbon value chain with ten refineries in operation.
“They have a wealth of experience in refinery capacity at various refineries across Asia. The delegation indicated that there is a readily available local workforce to support the resumption of refining operations,” Moonilal said at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, Port-of-Spain
Moonilal said substantive engagement is expected to begin shortly after the Carnival season ends.
“As everyone knows, these couple weeks here will be preoccupied with lime and other activities, so that we’ll not look at this time but certainly post-Carnival, into March, we’re expecting that Indian Oil and other partners, of course, not just that company, would be in the region. Once they are here, they will attend on us and look at the operations, look at the installations.”
He stressed that IOC has not expressed any interest in acquiring the refinery.
“The issue of bidding or leasing or selling doesn’t arise at this time. What we can say is that we are in talks with entities, particularly those with significant experience in refining, to assist us in the restart. If we can get the assistance in restarting, it includes, of course, technical expertise, enormous comprehensive, internationally reputable firms to do technical and health and safety analysis and so on, equipment asset integrity reports and so on. If we can get that type of support, then the next phase, of course, is financial restructuring and what options are available to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Moonilal recalled that in August last year, the United National Congress administration received correspondence from the Office of Procurement Regulation indicating that processes undertaken by the previous People’s National Movement administration in relation to a refinery restart were not aligned with OPR legislation. He said there were procedural flaws which rendered the process improper. However, he said organisations which expressed interest are still being considered.
“Those players who have expressed an interest already, they are on the table, of course. They are still on the table. But we are in a situation where we are discussing with international partners, and those with great experience, how we can get together.”
Companies that had previously expressed interest in the Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery include Oando PLC, Beowulf Energy, and the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union-backed Patriotic Energies.
Although the refinery has been closed for seven years, Moonilal said a restart assessment report indicated that resumption of operations is possible, but would require significant work and investment.
During the India visit, T&T’s delegation also met with Reliance Industries Limited, which operates the world’s largest single-site refinery complex in Gujarat, India. Moonilal said Reliance is also being engaged to participate in the refinery restart process.
The delegation also held talks with ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies. He noted that while TotalEnergies currently has no major operations in T&T, it is active in Suriname and has shown interest in expanding its Caribbean footprint.
He described the India Energy Week conference as a major success. He said discussions centred on rising global energy demand and T&T’s potential role in meeting that demand, with repeated emphasis on the country’s position as a regional energy hub.
“During the entire week and particularly during panel discussions, the panellists and particularly representatives of the new emerging energy economies looked towards Trinidad and Tobago for leadership, they looked towards us for guidance and had enormous respect for our great history as an oil producer and an energy economy.”
Moonilal said the delegation promoted Trinidad and Tobago’s newly introduced energy accelerator hub as a mechanism to attract investment, alongside the country’s political stability, skilled workforce and fiscal regime.
He said he reassured international investors that Government is prepared to introduce innovative incentives for multinational companies, while ensuring fair returns to the state.
The delegation also met engineering firms from Houston which service Gulf Coast refineries, many of which expressed interest in opportunities in T&T. Moonilal said discussions also highlighted the country’s upstream potential and Government plans to expand exploration in deep and ultra-deep marine areas.
“All of the international oil and gas majors expressed the view that they were very pleased that ExxonMobil announced to the world that Trinidad and Tobago is now the gold standard in terms of doing business quickly and proceeding with pace to move quickly through negotiations to signing contracts and agreements.”
Moonilal also confirmed that T&T has been invited to attend the Guyana Energy Conference from February 17-20 but said details on the delegation are yet to be finalised. He also said the Caribbean Energy Week 2026 is scheduled for March 30-April 1 in Suriname, but said it was not yet clear whether he or the prime minister would attend.