Moody's lauds Petrotrin closure...but rating agency slaps policy weakness

  • Moody's Investors Services believes the Government has so far shown effective policymaking by restructuring Petrotrin. The international credit rating agency posited that had the Government not done so, it could have devolved into a potentially hazardous political and fiscal situation.
  • The Trinidadian government is now accepting bids for the Petrotrin Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, and the rating agency believes that if the new owner improves the refinery's operations, this would have a positive short-term impact on economic growth and potentially positive effect over the longer term.
  • Moody's also expects that over the next two years, the non-energy sector will return to growth and that gas output will stabilize along with an increase in oil production.
  • Nevertheless, although it expected that the economy will return to growth, the country's prospects for economic diversification away from hydrocarbons remain limited because of ‘deep-seated institutional shortcomings and short-term policy decisions’.

(Source: Trinidad Express Newspaper)