CONCERN has been expressed that foreigners are now in control at the State-owned Pointe-a-Pierre refinery.

“There is talk that Petrotrin is now a seamless organisation, whatever that means,” TnT Mirror was told.

“So, maybe, that is supposed to explain why Petrotrin officials may be taking orders from foreigners and other contractors.

“A project management consultant (PMC) was hired and some people are saying that they and some of the contractors now hired in the refinery have more authority than Petrotrin officials.

“Senior Petrotrin officials are being sidelined.

“No checks and balances have been put in place to show that Petrotrin is still in charge.”

The source added: “It is also clear that all the contract procedures are not being followed for much of the upgrading work that is taking place in the refinery.

“One particular foreign company is like the sweetheart of Petrotrin.

“From initially being just the consultant for a particular phase of the work, one company is now literally running the entire operations at Petrotrin.

“That firm is probably good for some aspects of the job, but not for the vast authority it has been given.”

He asked: “Why are we giving foreigners the authority to handle our money.

“It is millions of dollars we are talking about.

“Do you know that some small contractors and even permanent employees of the company are now ordered to report to foreigners?

There were also allegations that proper tendering procedures were not entirely followed in awarding some of the jobs.

In fact, Mirror was told that even though Korean companies are not on the list of firms from who Petrotrin can buy, a lot of the equipment for the refinery upgrade is being purchased from the far-east country.

The source is calling on the Integrity Commission to keep an eye on developments at the Petrotrin refinery.