Refining
In the early 1900s, there were several small refineries operating in Trinidad, including plants in Santa Flora (TPD 1930 – ?) and Brighton (UBOT 1911–1978). These were all closed over time as they became non-viable either because of aging technology or supply and cost challenges.[6] The Point Fortin Refinery built in 1912 that once refined Venezuelan crude was the last to be shut down in 1994 due to cost challenges after the economic recession of the 1980s to make way for Atlantic LNG as Trinidad and Tobago shifted its emphasis from oil to natural gas.
Petrotrin operated Trinidad and Tobago's single petroleum refinery, located at Pointe-à-Pierre, just north of the city of San Fernando, popularly known as the Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery. The refinery produced liquid petroleum gases, unleaded motor gasoline, avjet/kerosene, diesel/heating oil, fuel oil and aviation gasoline among other products. It has driven the country's economy and placed the country in the hydrocarbon sector.
In 1913, former sugar estates in the area was purchased for plans to build a refinery[7] by Trinidad Leaseholds Ltd, a British subsidiary of Central Mining Company headquartered in the United Kingdom. In 1917, the refinery was built and began production at 75,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). Its first upgrade occurred in 1928 with the construction of the No 3 and 4 Topping plants. During World War II the refinery was identified as an asset to be "protected at all cost" as a major supplier of aircraft fuel for the Allied forces.[5] By 1940, the refinery went through another expansion, a top secret project known as Project 1234 and by May 1942, the first Catalytic Cracking Unit came on stream[8] where refining capacity in Trinidad and Tobago was recorded at 28.5 million barrels per year. At the end of World War II, the refinery was recognized as the largest in the British empire.
In 1956, Trinidad Leaseholds Ltd was acquired by Texaco where by April 1960, the No 8 Topping Unit came on stream along with a lubricating oil plant, canning plant and a paraffins plant with production increasing and peaking to 360,000 barrels per day by 1970. Following the unrest of the 1970 Black Power Revolution, throughput was down to 183,000 barrels per day yet the refinery continued to be viable. By late 1984, Texaco assets including the refinery was acquired by the State and placed under the state company Trintoc, which itself was merged to form Petrotrin in 1993. By 1997, upgrades to infrastructure, instrumentation, and environmental systems were completed. This was done to improve product quality by reducing the sulfur content and increasing octane moving production from 90,000 to 160,000 barrels per day. More upgrades were done on the plants as recent as 2011. By being the only refinery in operation in the Caribbean, Trinidad & Tobago became the supplier of refined petroleum products to the rest of the region.[9]
Petrotrin produced 48047 oilbbl/d and had proven reserves totaling 439585 Moilbbl.
The refinery had a capacity of 190 koilbbl/d and it was the only refinery in the world that operated alongside a wildlife park.[10]
