Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain said on Thursday that the Petroleum Policy 2012 was not being implemented because the Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting could not be convened for the past nine months, delaying the exploration process.
Responding to a “calling attention notice” raised by Mian Raza Rabbani, Afrasiab Khattak, Zahid Khan and others, the minister said that under the new petroleum policy, the oil/gas producing province would get 12.5 percent of the royalty. He said the rest of the royalty amount would be equally shared between the federal and the respective provincial governments. He said the provincial government would have to spend 16 percent of the royalty on development and well-being of the people of the oil/gas producing district. The blocks in Sindh and Balochistan will be auctioned publicly under the new policy, he said. The minister said that the CCI should meet regularly to resolve outstanding energy-related issues between the federation and provinces. He said the federal government would provide relevant data to the provinces on gas exploration.
Responding to queries raised during the Question Hour, Hussain said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources would take up a proposal to evaluate petroleum prices on a fortnightly basis instead of monthly basis in the next Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting. He said the objective was to pass on the impact of the fluctuation of petroleum prices in the international market to the consumers. The minister said that certain quarters were complaining that the decrease in petroleum prices in the international market was not being passed on to the consumers.
Colonel (r) Tahir Mashhadi asked the minister why the government was not purchasing oil from Iran despite its offer to provide oil on cheaper rates. The minister replied that Iran itself was an “oil-deficient” country, which was why the Pakistani government was not buying Iranian oil. When asked if there was any plan to provide subsidy to the common man, the minister replied that 16 percent GST and petroleum levy of Rs 10 per litre was being charged on every litre of petrol. He said that 70 percent of the GST share goes to the provinces, and the provincial governments had refused to cut down their share. He said the federal government had sacrificed its share, and was charging petroleum levy of Rs 7/liter instead of Rs 10.
Responding to another query about the import of LNG, the minister said that after the apex court decision, the Mashal project had become controversial and the sponsors of the project had fallen bankrupt. He said the ministry was re-initiating the LNG project and the matter would be taken to the ECC.
About the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, the minister said the project was on track and it would be completed by year 2014 despite difficulties. He said Pakistan was facing acute gas shortage, and the demand for gas was on the rise. He said that since last year, diesel imports had decreased due to the increase in gas consumption. The minister said that if Pakistan continued to waste its precious gas resources on CNG and domestic consumers, it would have to face serious consequences in the future. He said a long term constructive policy would have to be evolved to meet the future challenges.
“Due to the absence of a long-term policy, we don’t know what will happen after year 2020 when one of our rich reservoirs would come to an end,” he maintained. He said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) should be placed under the Ministry of Petroleum, adding that he had made this proposal to the prime minister who turned it down. He asked the House to make this recommendation to streamline the matters of OGRA. He said that Pakistan had rich reserves of gas but the exploration was very costly.
State Minister for Water and Power Tasneem Qureshi assured the House that he would conduct visits across the country to clamp down on power pilferages, and announced that anyone found involved in deliberate power theft would be dealt with accordingly. He added that check-meters would be installed with every transformer to reduce power leakages.
Taking part in the debate on the president’s address to the joint sitting of the parliament, Nasreen Jalil said the president’s address for the fifth time was an indication that democracy was strengthening in the country. Kalsoom Parveen congratulated the president for the historic address to the joint sitting of the parliament for the fifth consecutive year. She said that during the last four years, the government took a number of steps that “uplifted” the living standard of the masses. She said that all stakeholders should be taken on board while making decisions on the foreign policy. The House passed “The Medical and Dental Council (Amendment) Bill 2012”. Federal Public Service Commission’s Annual Report for the year 2010 was also presented in the House.
