KPOGCL’s CEO appointment: Energy & Power dept likely to set aside probe body’s recommendations

PESHAWAR: The Energy & Power Department is likely to set aside recommendations of the probe committee to appoint a petroleum engineer as chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited (KPOGCL) as it has allowed degree holders even in law and public administration to apply for the lucrative position.

The Energy and Power Department floated an advertisement on Saturday in the newspapers for the position of the CEO of the company. The post has been vacant since November 8 after the termination of services of Raziuddin, who had led the company for over five years.

The documents of the Finance Department showed that the former CEO’s salary, perks and privileges came to Rs3 million per month.

He was apparently removed on the recommendation of the probe committee, headed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Senator Nauman Wazir, as it felt the company failed to deliver due to his poor performance.

The provincial government, following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, decided to set up an oil and gas company to explore, produce and deliver petroleum products on the pattern of federal Oil and Gas Company Limited (OGCL).

It hired the services of independent consultants such M/s ELAN and LMKR to prepare “Bankable Business Plan” in June 2012 for the company even before its incorporation.

The KPOGCL was incorporated on February 4, 2013 and its Memorandum of Association covers almost the entire spectrum of oil and gas exploration and production to delivery of petroleum products down to the burner tip.

A document available with The News showed that oil and gas production and other operations of the other exploration and production companies is being claimed to be the success of KPOGCL even though it has no real contribution in this regard. The document suggested that in fact the KPOGCL’s interjections had been counter-productive.

The document showed that it could not drill a single oil well and the haphazard approach adopted by the company proved to be a disaster.

Non-relevant, non-professional, surplus and incompetent manpower was hired. Its misdirected efforts is stated to have caused a loss of about Rs500 million over the last four years.

It was recommended to the government to hire the services of an experienced petroleum engineer having multidisciplinary approach and higher management exposure in an exploration and production company to lead the KPOGCL.

However, the advertisement said candidates with 20 year experience in an oil and gas company and having postgraduate degree in petroleum, chemical, mining or any engineering discipline, geology, geophysics and even in law and public administration can apply for the CEO’s job.

An official of the company claimed on condition of anonymity that the advertisement reflected the intent of those at the helm of affairs to install their favourite candidate as the CEO.

He said oil and gas exploration and production was highly technical discipline and appointment of inexperienced and unqualified CEO without the necessary practical experience and training to lead the KPOGCL would be another disastrous decision by the provincial government.