Chief Minister Sindh demands 'Net Gas Profit’ from centre

KARACHI:  Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the natural gas produced in Sindh is being supplied to Fertilizer and Power sectors and the entire country benefits from power and fertilizer. 

Therefore, Sindh may be compensated for the amount of natural gas not provided to its consumers of different sectors.

This he said on Friday while presiding over a meeting to discuss the proposed amendments suggested in OGRA Ordinance 2020.

 The meeting was attended by Minister Energy Imtiaz Shaikh, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretary Energy Musadiq Ahmed, Secretary Finance Najam Shah, MD TCEB Tariq Ali Shah and other concerned officers.

The chief minister said that under Article 158 of the Constitution of Pakistan the province where wellhead of natural gas was situated has first right of utilization of indigenous natural gas. 

“But on the contrary natural gas produced from Sindh is supplied to other Provinces and requirements of the Province are not being met,” he said and went on saying “in addition, the natural gas produced in Sindh is also supplied to Fertilizer and Power sectors and entire country benefits from power and fertilizer.”

He said, had the natural gas supplied to other industrial, commercial and domestic consumers in Sindh, the Province could have benefited a lot. 

“Thus, Sindh may be compensated for the amount of natural gas not provided to its consumers of different sectors,” he demanded.

Mr Shah directed Minister Energy Imtiaz Shaikh sit with his experts and prepare a case and send it to the next CCI meeting. 

He also said that three months have passed to the last CCI meeting, therefore he decided to send a letter to the federal government for convening CCI meeting.

The Sindh government has been demanding from the federal government that the provincial governments should be given due representation in the national institutions such as OGDC, OGRA, PIA and such other institutions.

The federal government has allowed M/s SNGPL to inject RLNG volumes for consumption by domestic & commercial consumers, provided OGRA allows volumetric adjustments and financial impact on cost neutral basis in line with ECC decision of May 11, 2018.

The ECC further directed Cabinet Division to initiate necessary amendments in OGRA Ordinance 2002 so as to bring the RLNG supply chain within its ambit in consultation with Petroleum Division and OGRA.

The Sindh government has proposed an amended in Section 3 (3) and the amendment read as “The Authority shall consist of a Chairman to be appointed by the Federal Government and four Members, one from each Provinces, to be appointed by the Federal Government in consultation with the concerned Provincial Government.”

The Sindh government has also proposed an amendment in Section 3(13) which reads as “There shall be a Vice-Chairman of the Authority, appointed from amongst the Members for a period of one year, by rotation, in the following order, namely:

the Member representing the Province of Baluchistan;

1. the Member representing the Province of Sindh;

2. the Member representing the Province of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and

3. the Member representing the Province of the Punjab.”

On the matter of `Powers of the Federal Government to issue policy guidelines’ the Sindh government has proposed that the Federal Government can issue policy guidelines to the Authority but with prior of approval of CCI.

The Sindh government also urged the CCI to decided provincial government’s pending matters such as amendment in “the Regulation of Mines and Oil Fields and Mineral Development Act 1948; Petroleum Concession Agreement/ Supplemental Agreement; Amendment in The Mines Act 1923 etc.