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Point Fortin
in southwestern Trinidad is the smallest
Borough in Trinidad
and Tobago. It was elevated to the status of a borough in
1980.
Point Fortin is the home of the Atlantic LNG Liquified
Natural Gas plant.
HISTORY OF POINT FORTIN
At the beginning of the 20th century, (before the
discovery of oil) Point Fortin was an agricultural community
with three distinct and separately owned cocoa and coconut
estates.
These estates were sparsely populated. Employment was
provided for a small number of workers who depended on the
estates for their living accommodation as well as their food
and other supplies. Travel in and out of Point Fortin was by
coastal steamers as there was no road into or out of the
area. The inhabited area was located along the seacoast.
In 1907, the Trinidad Oilfields moved into Point Fortin
on an expedition for the exploration of oil and sank its
first oil well on the La Fortunee Estates. That company
turned out to be the only one that survived successfully,
although there had been several similar expeditions by other
oil companies.
The company later changed its name to the United British
Oilfields of Trinidad then became Shell Trinidad Limited. In
1974 it was acquired by the Government and named TRINTOC or
the Trinidad and Tobago Oil Company, today known as
Petrotrin.
The change from an agricultural to an oil based economy
made a significant impact in Point Fortin. There was rapid
development in the construction of dwelling houses, plant,
pipelines and oil tanks in the area. Point Fortin was
booming and labour, particularly skilled labour for the new
technology, was scarce and posed a major problem.
Trinidadians did not seem to be attracted to the area.
Although people migrated from all over the country, the
population in 1931 was less than 500. There were very few
houses, no schools, and recreational and other facilities.
As a result Trinidadians who went to work in Point Fortin
never took their families with them.
However, this changed when the company realised that in
order to attract and retain workers, they needed to develop
the area. This encouraged families to settle in the area,
and coupled with a growth in the commercial sector, brought
about such facilities as a post office, police station as
well as other governmental agencies and banks.
In the 1960s the town began to see a decline due to
massive retrenchment. The Government tried to revive the
economic activity and eventually succeeded in establishing
the Dunlop Tyre Factory. However the economic revival was
only achieved in the early 1970s as a result of the Oil boom
and the acquisition of Shell Trinidad Limited by the
government.
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