On 31 May, the Petroleum Division under the Ministry of Energy pointed out that 75 million cubic feet of gas (mmcfd) had been dedicated to Pak Arab Fertilizer on almost round the year basis without first going through the bidding process as was the case with Engro Fertilizers. The Petroleum Secretary defended the decision claiming that the gas was of low quality, belonged to Mari Petroleum Company Limited (a key supplier to power generation companies, fertilizer and gas distribution companies) and could not be transported without 70 million dollar investment which the company was unwilling to undertake.
Three elements need to be highlighted. First, the portfolio of Minister of Energy was with former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from August 2017 till 31 May when the government’s tenure ended while previous to this position he held the portfolio of Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources. Abbasi therefore must have been fully aware of the gas allocation and management policy 2013 that was followed by the PML-N government that gives top priority for supply of the considerably cheaper natural gas relative to all imported products, including Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to domestic and commercial consumers (20 percent of total domestic gas supply) followed by power sector (around 30 percent), fertilizer (18 percent) and then industry (9 percent). The 70mmcfd dedicated allocation to Mari petroleum is therefore clearly violative of the gas allocation and management policy 2013.
Secondly, the federal cabinet under the chairmanship of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the ban on new gas connections in April 2017, though the ban had been violated earlier by the Sharif administration to benefit constituencies of members of his cabinet, including Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, his party loyalists and family, including his son-in-law, and allies, including Fazlur Rehman. However, new allocations were to be made on the basis of merit, and in order of demand, rather than left to the discretion of members of the executive particularly cabinet ministers. Reports indicate that Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) began to prioritize immediate installation of new gas connections as per ‘directives’ issued by the former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi notably in Murree, Kahota, and Kalar Syedan without payment of urgent fees and skipping the six-month long waiting period.
What is even more disturbing is that Deputy Chief Accountant (regulatory affairs) SNGPL Kashif Javed brought the violation of merit and adoption of discriminatory policy against consumers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the notice of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) – which, in turn, opted for silence. In this context, it is relevant to note that on 6 June 2017, the Cabinet Division issued a notification that brought five regulatory bodies, including Ogra, under the administrative control of the line ministry in spite of a decision by the Peshawar High Court, Islamabad High Court and Lahore High Court suspending the notification on grounds that it was a classic example of conflict of interest and taken without the approval of the Council of Common Interests. In other words, Ogra under the Ministry of Energy was powerless to take a decision that it ought to have taken in the interest of the consumers of other areas in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
To conclude, with each passing day there are more revelations of the PML-N administration violating policies and court orders for political gain which, so close to the general elections, can be dubbed as pre-poll rigging.
