Former Energy Minister Stuart Young is warning of “dire consequences” as he accused the Government of failing to include TPHL, Heritage and Paria in its recent Gazette Notice.

The notice contained details of assignments and responsibilities of certain Ministries.

In a statement shared via Facebook, Mr Young said the companies were not considered, identified or assigned to either the Minister of Energy or the Minister of Finance.

He says the restructuring of Petrotrin resulted in the formation of new companies which are responsible for the refinancing of Petrotrin’s historical debt, including the US$850 million bond that was due in August 2019 as well as a US$750 million bond.

He adds, “Petrotrin was restructured and Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited (“TPHL”), Heritage Petroleum Company Limited (“Heritage”) and Paria Fuel Trading Limited (“Paria”) were formed and are operational. TPHL and Heritage carried the legal obligations of the refinancing of the US$850 million and other significant historical debts. This was then refinanced a second time and the US$850 million bond and other significant debts are now carried by Heritage.”

Mr Young also insists  if the omission is not corrected, it “may result in defaults being declared under the bond and loan agreements, it can also trigger law suits based on contractual obligations, it can also lead to an immediate downgrading of our sovereign ratings.”

Attempts to contact Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Barry Padarath, on the issue have been unsuccessful.