Point Fortin
Oil town devastated by 2018 Petrotrin refinery closure, struggling to rebuild economic base.
Point Fortin is Trinidad's oil town—a small borough whose identity centers entirely on petroleum production. Petrotrin refinery (closed 2018) and surrounding operations defined economic life; restructuring created massive dislocation.
The 2018 Petrotrin closure eliminated thousands of jobs directly and indirectly. The refinery's shutdown removed the economic anchor; service industries dependent on petroleum employment contracted. Population declined as workers sought opportunities elsewhere.
Efforts to repurpose petroleum infrastructure continue. Heritage Petroleum maintains some operations; the former refinery site attracted industrial development interest. But the fundamental challenge—replacing an entire local economy—remains incompletely addressed.
The biological pattern is company-town collapse: Point Fortin exemplifies extreme resource-sector dependency, where single-industry failure devastates community viability.