The first export of crude oil from Petrotrin was loaded onto the tanker Hellespont Progress on Tuesday 30th October 2018 and is listed as being destined for Panama on marine tracking websites. According to a press release from Petrotrin dated 1st November 2018, the tanker was loaded with approximately 500,000 barrels of crude oil which was purchased by Trafigura Oil Traders, one of the world’s major commodity traders.
Trafigura has previously purchased refined products from Petrotrin. The Trinidad & Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI) has reported that the company is one of the more transparent global commodity traders and is committed to the global EITI process. In keeping with their EITI commitments, Trafigura report on the value of their purchases from state-owned enterprises such as Petrotrin. According to the 2017 Responsibility Report, they purchased 10.5 million barrels of refined product from Petrotrin in 2016 at a total price of US$ 506 million.