Three Petrotrin managers’ positions were terminated or have resigned following the Pointe-a Pierre/Marabella oil spill earlier in the year, Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine said yesterday. Ramnarine did so in Parliament, responding to Opposition questions.
He said it was anticipated there would be another termination or resignation of a manager and disciplinary action was to be taken against two employees.
Ramnarine said Petrotrin’s vice-president (refining and marketing) Madhoo Bachan was among those who resigned and was no longer on suspension with full pay. He said Bachan resigned on October 10. Ramnarine said he could not say why Bachan resigned but the latter took a personal decision and had not been terminated. Ramnarine said Bachan was replaced from October 11 by Jonathan Barden, who had acted in the post during Bachan’s suspension.
Barden, a chemical engineer, who was previously Petrotrin’s senior manager (refining), has 25 years’ experiences in oil refining in four countries and 16 years’ experience at BP. Ramnarine said Petrotrin’s internal business investigation into the oil spill started on August 6 and ended on October 9 and was done by a cross-functional team, comprising managers of seven areas and an OWTU representative.
An independent investigation and root-cause analysis were done by Pricewaterhouse Coopers into the Tank MP6 leaks. Ramnarine said that confirmed the need for observance and updating of systems and procedures. The report was submitted to the board on October 6 and referred to Petrotrin management on October 31.
He said an industrial relations investigation was done by the company’s IR Department to determine whether due process was followed in the maintenance and operations of Tank MP6. Arising from investigations on the Tank MP6, recommendations on systems and procedures were made to ensure there was no recurrence of an oil spill from the tank farm, he added.
Ramnarine said 19,512 barrels were discharged from Tank MP6 and all except that lost to evaporation or absorption in the soil was recovered. “No oil reached the sea,” he said.