BeNewz
ISLAMABAD: The sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed a special audit into the alleged irregularities in millions of dollars’ worth of training funds collected by the Petroleum Ministry’s Exploration and Production (E&P) companies.
The sub-committee meeting, chaired by Committee Convener Syed Naveed Qamar, was held at the Parliament House on Thursday. During the meeting, the convener stated that funds allocated for the training of officers in the Petroleum Ministry and its subordinate organizations were being misused. He claimed that senior officials of the ministry had sent their spouses abroad for shopping trips and favored officers on foreign visits using these funds.
Managing Director of OGDCL, Ahmed Hayat Lak, informed the committee that his company regularly deposits training funds annually and utilizes them for formal training of its officers. However, Petroleum Secretary Momin Agha failed to provide any explanation regarding the use of training funds by other E&P companies. He also did not respond to the queries raised by Convener Naveed Qamar concerning the training funds.
In another audit para, questions were raised regarding the pricing of gas, which had remained pending with the Ministry’s Director General Gas for seven years. The Petroleum Secretary admitted that a major reason behind the exit of E&P companies from Pakistan is the deliberate suppression and delay of such summaries by officials of the Petroleum Ministry.
Commenting on the audit para concerning the Nashpa gas field, OGDCL MD told the committee that gas was being stored there beyond its designated storage capacity. He added that during shutdowns at Attock Petroleum, additional gas from other fields was also stored in the facility.
The committee also reviewed the audit objections on Sui Southern Gas Company’s (SSGC) unaccounted-for gas (UFG), where audit officials pointed out irregularities amounting to Rs 129 billion. SSGC MD Amin Rajput responded that the company’s UFG is currently at 10.59%, which exceeds the OGRA-set benchmark by 3%. He assured the committee that the company is working towards bringing this figure within permissible limits in the coming years.
Speaking on gas theft, the SSGC MD revealed that large-scale theft takes place in remote areas of Balochistan, where approximately 60% of SSGC’s stolen gas is lost.
Regarding the supply of gas from the Sui field to SNGPL instead of Balochistan, the committee convener questioned why the Ministry of Petroleum was not complying with the Constitution. The Petroleum Secretary responded that discussions on this issue were already underway at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and that the committee would be briefed soon. Meanwhile, the SSGC MD stated that out of 300 MMCFD gas being produced from the Sui field, only 115 MMCFD is currently being supplied to SSGC