Trinidad bans the supply of regular gasoline

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government has announced the ban on the supply of regular gasoline on the local market because it had become uneconomical to do so following the closure of the state-owned oil refinery, PETROTRIN.

A statement from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries following the closure of PETROTRIN indicated the last stocks of regular gasoline were distributed by December 7 and that the demand for regular gasoline has fluctuated between 8000 barrels to 10,000 barrels per month.

The ministry said that Paria Fuel Trading Company, one of the new companies formed following PETROTRIN’s closure and which is now responsible for the supply of liquid petroleum fuels on the local market, had informed that imports of regular gasoline would be “uneconomical as the volumes are small, the fuel is not a standard grade and is rarely produced by most regional refineries”.

The government said that regular gasoline has been the fuel widely used by fishing communities and that “a suitable and superior replacement” is being used in artisanal fishing vessels without adverse impact.

The government shut down PETROTRIN after complaining that the company was losing billions of dollars (One TT dollar=US$09.16 cents) annually. As a result of the closure thousands of workers were put on the breadline. On Monday the government announced a series of incentives to help the former workers cushion the impact of the closure.