Lucrative salary packages: OGDC acting MD grilled over EDs' appointments

A parliamentary panel Wednesday grilled the acting managing director of Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) for hiring three executive directors at lucrative salary packages and delay in appointment of a permanent managing director (MD).

The Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum met with Mohsin Aziz in the chair here on Wednesday. Member committee Nauman Wazir Khattak alleged that the OGDC Board had selected unqualified executive directors in the company at hefty salaries of around Rs 2 million each and against the policies of the government.

He further said that the OGDC Board has failed to appoint a suitable candidate for the post of permanent managing director in last five years due to stay order of the court. "The board wants to select a person having experience of refinery rather than an exploration expert," he alleged.

This was the reason that the court has given stay order against the appointment of permanent managing director.

The issue of regularizing of 13 engineers appointed under Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan was referred to board of OGDC. These employees were hired on contract basis more than ten years back and have not been regularized.

The OGDCL acting MD informed the committee that there were 85 employees who were hired before this package. He said that nine engineers were given job under Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan. He said that the Supreme Court had given a ruling that the employees should be regularized through test and interview.

Acting Managing Director OGDC Dr Naseem Ahemd urged that the management has recently hired three executive directors at a salary of Rs 1.2 million each. He further said that he had no knowledge about the stay on the appointment of managing director by any court.

The secretary petroleum emphasized that the energy mix should be reviewed as there is no mismatch in the demand of the re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) by the power sector. He said that in December each year, Petroleum and Power Divisions jointly prepare an annual plan for import of the RLNG to meet the requirement of power and other sectors of the economy.

He said the import of RLNG is imperative to meet the deficit of the gas otherwise the country would face gas shortage as it had faced in 2009-10.

The director general Petroleum Concession (DGPC), Petroleum Division, said that the indigenous gas production is 4 bcf and requirement of system gas is 6 bcf. The import of LNG stands at 1.2 bcf.

Nauman Wazir said that there is mismatch between the import of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and demand of power sector. Resultantly, recently the federal government had to halt local gas supply in the system and delivered expensive LNG to power sectors and other consumers by utilizing existing pipelines.

The director general Petroleum Concession (DGPC), Petroleum Division, said that the federal government has been paying 12.5 percent royalty on each discovery to the province, whereas 2.5 percent share is given to the province where discovery is made and other 2.5 percent is given to the Government Holding Company (Pvt) Ltd.

In his ruling, the chairman called a separate session to discuss in detail the provinces' shares in the oil and gas exploration sector.

Nauman Wazir demanded that KPK OGDCL should be given 25 percent share in oil and gas reserves. However, the secretary petroleum said that the provinces cannot get share in such a way. It was informed that the OGDCL is working on development of 11 new wells of oil and gas.