Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is questioning whether any due process was followed by Finance Minister Colm Imbert to give approval to Petrotrin to sell its failed World Gas To Liquid (GTL) plant to NiQuan Energy Limited.
Speaking during the UNC’s Monday Night Forum in Rio Claro, Persad-Bissessar said NiQuan was set up only to acquire the plant and was not involved in any other business ventures.
She is alleging that the deal was brokered by four officials linked to the PNM.
In March, an announcement was made that the GTL plant would be sold to NiQuan Energy for US$35m, with US$10m being paid in cash and the remaining US$25 million in preferential shares in NiQuan.
“So tonight I have some questions for the Finance Minister Colm Imbert. Did you seek the guidance of the standing committee on energy before you approved the sale of the GTL plant to NiQuan?” And who is on that standing committee? The same people from way back when,” Persad-Bissessar asked.
“It has been reported the company (NiQuan) does not have a GTL plant or a track record to anything, farless relating to a GTL plant. So the question I am asking is what due diligence has been conducted in making a decision to sell this plant to this company?”
She claims NiQuan was set up only to acquire the GTL plant.
She added: “And there are more reasons for us to be worried because our research shows us that although the parent company, NiQuan Energy LLC, was incorporated in March, 2008, its website tells us that the parent company is not involved in any other activity other than buying this failed GTL plant in Trinidad.
“In fact, NiQuan Energy Trinidad director and CEO has noted in interviews that the company was created here in Trinidad in July 2012, sounds familiar with their modus operandi?
“Set up ghost companies and come for taxpayers benefits, the company was created in July 2012 and what was it created for? As a vehicle to buy the GTL plant, that’s it, nothing else, they created the company for that purpose.”
Persad-Bissessar said the deal between NiQuan and Petrotrin was tied up. “You have these four energy czars (officials) and the story continues because you know what they have now sold the failed GTL plant to a company called NiQuan.
“They've sold it for a song and a dance when it cost you and our country $3.3billion they sold it for $10 million to NiQuan Energy.
Quoting from a 2014 High Court ruling which stated NiQuan has no assets other than its ‘goodwill and reputation,’ Persad-Bissessar said there was no guarantee T&T would benefit at all from the NiQuan/Petrotrin deal.
“The court also noted and I quote: “Save for it’s right under the exclusivity agreement, NiQuan has no assets other than the goodwill and the reputation of punitive namesake and its own goodwill and reputation.
“You know what that means in my understanding? It means NiQuan is broke. They have no money. And it goes further, it means if we do business with NiQuan, who as disclosed seem to have no money, that will be a very grave financial risk to T&T and to Petrotrin and there is no guarantee the country would benefit from this project and it is a gold mine.”
She also questioned the conditions of the sale, saying it is cloaked in a cloud of PNM secrecy.
“The company is not expected to pay for anything for the plant until the year 2018, they don’t have to pay nothing, it is you the taxpayer that has to continue to pay to the tune of $3.3 billion. We don’t know the terms and conditions and based on the track record of the Rowley administration, we will never know until it is too late, just like with the GTL plant.”