Minister of Energy Affairs Franklin Khan has announced that the government has rejected the counter-proposal of Patriotic Energies and Technologies Company Limited for the acquisition of the Petrotrin refinery.
Khan made the announcement at a news conference this afternoon, and added that the government is now considering its options on the way forward.
Khan said, “Let me say from the onset that this was and has been a very complex negotiations because we were attempting to sell a complex asset involving the sale of the multi-billion dollar state asset. As such due diligence by the state was paramount in this exercise.”
Patriotic, a company that was formed by the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) had submitted a counter-proposal on October 29 ahead of the government’s deadline.
Khan said their proposal failed to address the key issues that could lead to the sale of the refinery.
Noting that both parties are bound non-disclosure agreements in these discussions, he said the key issues at the end of prolonged discussions were the purchase price financing, the restart financing and first priority lien on the assets.
More on this in tomorrow’s Sunday Guardian.
