Powerful group wants to get hold of LPG extraction: Senate panel voices concern...

Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources on Tuesday noted with serious concern that a powerful group in LPG sector was behind litigation on different fields of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) to get hold of LPG.
The senate body which met with Senator Sabir Baloch in chair on Tuesday directed OGDCL management to submit all details about litigation and revised criteria of bidding to probe into the issue. The senate body has also expressed serious concern over revised criteria - 30 percent marks for price bid and 70 percent marks for technical proposal to qualify for the contract.
"I can say with guarantee that criteria for bid on fields has been revised to benefit certain group in LPG sector which holds 30 percent share in LPG extraction and is over-ambitious to raise its share to 55 percent," Member senate body Senator Haroon Akhtar said fearing that LPG companies will also go again to court against revised criteria. He said that powerful group in LPG sector was behind all game, which forced LPG company Petrosin to go to court and therefore production of gas from the fields could not start.
Senator Shahid Bugti said that bidding document of revised criteria should be submitted to the committee as media report suggested that revised criteria was approved by OGDCL in violation of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules. Secretary Petroleum Imtiaz Qazi said the government had faced a loss of $2 billion due to litigation on Tando Allah Yar, Kunner Pesahki and Sanjuro fields.
"After court gives decisions in favour of OGDCL, the bidding process to develop these fields has been resumed," Qazi said, adding that bidding will be carried out according to revised formula of 30-70 percent ratio for bid price and technical proposal. He assured the committee that OGDCL would extract LPG from these fields and no private party be made part of the deal.
Managing Director (MD) OGDCL Naeem Malik said that litigation had cost Rs 17 million on account of lawyers' fee. He further said that Kunner Pesakhi field would produce 250 million mmcfd, Tando AllahYar field 28 mmcfd and Sanjuro 286 mmcfd gas and LPG 286 metric tons, 75 metric tons and 138 metric tons respectively from these fields.
Senators from Balochistan Shahid Bugti, Ismael Buledi and Muhabbat Khan Mari lodged protest over ignoring Balochistan during recruitment in OGDCL. Senator Ismael Baledi walked out of the committee meeting to register protest over ignoring people from Balochistan in OGDCL employment.