Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal is contending that Trinidad and Tobago could have reaped greater benefits from the current conflict involving Iran if the former government had not shut down the Petrotrin refinery.

Contributing to the mid-year budget review debate at yesterday’s parliamentary sitting, Moonilal said he had been closely monitoring developments in the Strait of Hormuz—a 21-mile oil chokepoint separating the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman.

Following United States’ strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Iran’s Parliament approved the closure of the Strait, a move expected to cause a dramatic spike in oil prices.