ISLAMABAD: Members of the Senate body asked the government to enter the names of the officials of Hascol Petroleum officials on the Exit Control List (ECL) as they were allegedly involved in a fraud of over Rs66 billion.
This demand was raised by Senator Fida Mohammad in a meeting of the senate standing committee on Petroleum which was held under the chairmanship of Senator Mirza Abdul Qadir. Senator Mohsin Aziz claimed that a company (Hascol) has committed a fraud of more than Rs 66 billion.
Chairman Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) informed the senate committee that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had not contacted OGRA regarding alleged fraud by the official of Hascol. He said that Hescol has strategic storage.
The Petroleum Division told the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum that the loss of gas sector in the winter season is around Rs35 bn as the state owned-Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) is faced with financial problems while Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has to pay Rs400 bn and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to pay Rs150 bn. It further said that the highest forum should have the authority to approve an annual delivery plan for gas.
Secretary Petroleum informed the senate panel that the term of Qatar’s long-term agreement is about ten dollars per MMBtu. He said that 12 cargos were imported every month to the country and out of them, five cargos were imported under spot purchase and seven cargoes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imported under the long term purchase agreement. He also said that the Pakistan GasPort Consortium (PGPC) terminal has been operating at low capacity due to some reasons and the daily rent of the LNG terminal is $242,000.
Secretary Petroleum added the LNG terminal wants to sell LNG directly to the consumers, while gas companies are of the view that if large sectors withdraw from the use of imported Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG), their system will not work. He said that a feasibility study is underway to build LNG storage in Sindh at a cost of around US$1 bn.
Secretary Petroleum Dr Arshad further elaborated that the loss of gas in winter is Rs35 bn. The petroleum division had told PAPRA that its law does not suit LNG.
Regarding LNG purchases, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has given exemption in the rules. PAPRA has informed that there will be no condition of 15 days on-spot purchase, said Dr Arshad.
The chairman of the Senate committee said that the federal government should look into the LNG market in advance.
