PORT OF SPAIN, (Reuters) – Trinidad and Tobago has entered talks with Quanten LLC, a U.S. company, to sell its refinery. This is more than a year since the government turned down a bid from a local group for it.

After suffering more than $1B in losses over five years, the Petrotrin refinery, run by the Caribbean government, was shut down three years ago. The Petrotrin had an estimated capacity of processing 140,000 barrels per hour of crude.

Young stated in a statement that Quanten LLC was an American company engaged in the request for proposals process to build the refinery.

“The company has been engaged by TPHL” he stated, referring specifically to Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited (state-owned Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited), which is handling this request for proposals.

Quanten didn’t immediately reply to our requests for comment.

In early 2021, Trinidad and Tobago’s government stated that Patriotic Energies (a company of the trade union representing oil workers) could not offer any funding for the refinery.