A&V Oil and Gas responds to allegations of fraud

PORT OF SPAIN, September 15, 2017 – A&V Oil and Gas (A&V) demanded on Friday that Petrotrin president Fitzroy Harewood and chairman Wilfred Espinet issue a statement by 4:00 PM that findings in an August 17 internal audit related to the ongoing fake-oil scandal at the company’s Catshill oilfield were preliminary and inconclusive.

The company’s demand follows its launch of a legal defence on September 14 against the allegations of fraud. Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC will represent the company is this matter. A&V has criticised the handling of the internal audit, stating that it had not been consulted by Petrotrin’s auditors. Furthermore, Petrotrin officials failed to reach out to A&V and allow the company to present its own findings related to the issue at hand.

While chairman Espinet had not seen the report as of September 6, A&V was less than pleased with the chairman’s statements, which Maharaj said “implicitly corroborated the allegations of fraud and or fraudulent conduct and or breach of contract against A&V.”

A&V’s demands for an independent review of the audit are in keeping with the intent of communication from Petrotrin dated August 25. A letter from the NOC noted that the findings were exploratory and that the company was in the process of obtaining independent confirmation.

In response to allegations that A&V defrauded Petrotrin, the company has called in a USD 6.3-million debt by the state-owned entity for crude resources produced in June and July. A&V has given Petrotrin seven days to remit the funds. “It is unlawful for Petrotrin to act on the report to adversely affect A and V’s contractual rights having regard to the fact that Petrotrin has admitted that the report was preliminary and that its findings were going to be independently confirmed,” a statement from the company related.

All told, A&V has been accused of receiving some USD 11.5 million from Petrotrin as a result of inaccurate reporting of crude oil delivered to the Petrotrin Refinery. The document on which the allegations are based was for internal use and as such has not been widely distributed. On September 13, Selwyn Lashley, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and newly appointed Petrotrin board member, admitted that he had not yet received a copy of the report.

Since being subject to increased oversight, production at the Catshill field has suffered a downturn. In the latter part of July, production fell from 1,369 bopd compared to July 1-12, when the asset produced 3,589 bopd.

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