Ex-NP
boss: Release gas reserves audit
Trinidad Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
07 08 07
CAROLYN Seepersad-Bachan is calling on Government and Energy Minister Dr Lenny
Saith to release last year's audit on the nation's gas reserves position.
She said every year an audit is performed by international
consultants and the findings released publicly
and placed on the Ministry of Energy's website.
One
year ago, however, she said an international
consultant performed such an audit, "but to
date, these findings have been kept a secret".
Seepersad-Bachan called on Saith to table the
report in Parliament and clear the air.
The
former senator and chairman of State-owned National
Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd suggested
that the audit was not released because the gas
reserves continued to be "precariously low".
She
said too that under the extractive industry transparency
initiatives of which Trinidad is a
signatory, "it requires that the government
account to the people the rate of which we are
depleting our natural resources, how it is being
extracted and how it is being 'monitised' for the
benefit of the people".
Seepersad-Bachan, who was speaking at a Congress
of the People public meeting at Vistabella on Tuesday
night, also called on officials of NP and the government
to explain why one gas station in South was selected
for upgrade when all other upgrades had been stopped.
"They must explain on what basis was preferential
treatment given to this particular station, although
they had stopped the service upgrade. Why was this
one selected for upgrade?" she asked.
Seepersad-Bachan also charged that Government
was keeping the gas optimisation project at Petrotrin,
the State-owned oil company a secret.
"This
is the largest State funded project undertaken
in the history of this country at an
estimated cost of US$900 million. And this is being
executed completely in secret. Why?"
Seepersad-Bachan
criticised the government on its management of
NP, saying the company's profits
had fallen"drastically".
"I have here July 2006, financial statements
for the National Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd.
What is interesting is that profit was about $20
million the year before and it is now $5.5 million
after tax," she said.
Added
Seepersad-Bachan: "This is profit,
when we are dealing with a company that generates
sales of over $1.3 billion, a company with over
$1.4 billion in assets."
She said under her chairmanship the fortunes of
NP were quite different.
"Under
my tenure at NP, we were mandated to re-engineer
the organisation to meet international
competition and increase profitability. Profits
moved from $25 million to $65 million. Employees
would recall receiving thousands of dollars in
productivity bonuses at the end of the year.
"We funded the modernisation of the service
station network with internally generated funds," Seepersad-Bachan
said.
Trinidad
Express
Saturday, July 7th 2007
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