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MANY former Petrotrin workers say the past seven years have been filled with mental anguish, financial instability and crushed hopes. And even as Prime Minister Stuart Young announced that Oando PLC – the Nigerian company that is the preferred bidder for the refinery – will seek to rehire them if operations restart, they still feel no sense of ease.

Petrotrin was shut down in November 2018. The government maintains, though, that it did not “close down” the company and that it was restructured to Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd. Fast-forward to 2025 – the government chooses Oando for the lease of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery as it looks to restart operations. Young said the company will not bring in foreign workers for the refinery and that the government made a negotiation for former refinery workers to be hired.

Ex-employees speak