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THE High Court has ruled that the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) and its company, Patriotic Energies and Technologies Ltd, must repay millions of dollars loaned to them to support their bid to buy the Petrotrin refinery.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Carol Gobin on June 30, found that both OWTU and Patriotic failed to repay two loans, one issued in November 2019 and another in May 2020, despite acknowledging the debts and agreeing to repayment terms.

The loans were used to pay consultants helping Patriotic prepare its offer to purchase 100 per cent of Guaracara Refining Company and Paria Fuel Trading Company. The money was supposed to be repaid in scheduled instalments, but the OWTU never made any payments, despite new agreements in 2021 and 2022 extending their repayment period.