Oando Plc has emerged the preferred bidder for the lease of the Guaracara Refinery in Trinidad and Tobago.

Peoples Gazette learnt that Oando was selected as the bidder having defeated Trinidad’s CRO Consortium and INCA Energy.

In a statement on Thursday, Trinidad and Tobago’s acting Minister of Energy, Stuart Young, said Oando won the bid primarily based on its strong financial track record, emphasising its $1.5bn acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ assets in Nigeria in 2014.

Mr Young said, “Today Cabinet agreed to inform Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited (TPHL) of its non-objection to the pursuit of discussions with energy company Oando to negotiate the lease of the Guaracara refinery.’’

The minister noted Oando’s proposal aligned with the government’s goals of reducing the state’s burden and creating flexibility for the future operation of the refinery.

According to the evaluation committee, Oando defeated companies such as the CRO Consortium given its ability to secure substantial financing in the upstream oil sector.

Mr Young further stressed the need to protect Paria Fuel Trading Company’s assets, stating that it was crucial to ensuring the continued supply of domestic fuel in the country.

“We have to protect the assets of Paria to always ensure that we can provide domestic fuel to our population,” Mr Young added, stressing that potential bidders must be committed to restarting the refinery and not just acquiring Paria’s assets only for bunkering purposes.

This development came weeks after Oando announced its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER), secured a bid to operate an oil block in Angola.