ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister Office (PMO) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government have sought clarity from the Petroleum Division over the proposed sale of gas from a field in Kohat without bidding.
According to sources, the PMO had issued the directive on January 2 after media reports that a minority shareholder of the newly developed Razgir field had finalised the sale of gas to a third party through negotiations instead of open bidding.
The petroleum division had yet to respond to the PMO.
KP’s Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions (DGPC) has also reminded the division that it had the power to make a decision on such sales under the Petroleum Policy, 2012.
Minority shareholder proposes deal for sale to third party; other private partner complains of ‘being kept in dark’
The process adopted by the shareholder was against the decision made by the Council of Common Interests (CCI), DGPC Director Mian Nasim Javed said.
The CCI, which included chief ministers of all four provinces, envisaged a competitive process for the sale of gas to third parties and also stipulated that provincial rights under Article 158 should be protected in such deals.
Mr Javed said any arrangement violating Article 158 and the CCI’s decision would not be acceptable to the KP government.
Earlier this month, MOL-Pakistan, the operator and 10 per cent shareholder of the gas field, told its partners that it had finalised the sale of gas to a private firm, Universal Gas Distribution Company Ltd (UGDCL), through negotiations.
Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) is the second private shareholder with 25pc stakes.
The remaining 65pc shares are held by three public companies: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) (30pc), Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) (30pc) and Government Holdings (Pvt) Limited (GHPL) (5pc).
MOL-Pakistan has sought consent from other shareholders for signing of gas sale purchase agreement with UGDCL, according to documents seen by Dawn.
The deal would enable the Islamabad-based UGDCL to acquire gas for its private customers, mostly CNG stations, to be sold through a pipeline network of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Le (SNGPL) on payment of wheeling charges.
However, POL has claimed that the natural resource, overwhelmingly (65pc) owned by the public companies, could not be legally sold to a third party without competitive bidding.
Dawn reached out to Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, Secretary Momin Agha, and managing directors of OGDCL, PPL, and GHPL, but none responded to repeated calls or written questions despite reminders.
MOL-Pakistan’s Regional Vice President Ali Murtaza Abbas also did not respond to written requests for comments.
