Working group turns down Balochistan CM’s demand for province’s share

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The demand of the former chief minister of Balochistan to pass on benefits of Sui Field to the province has been turn down by the working group in Islamabad as there are no rules and regulations in Pakistan’s constitution regarding this issue, said an official of the Ministry of Petroleum.

In October last, the Ministry of Petroleum formed the working group to discuss the legal issues raised by the then chief minister Abdul Malik Baloch regarding the gas royalty issue and its distribution from Sui Field.

The official said that the Balochistan government had asked the federal government to give the province’s legal share in Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) as royalty and nominate one of Balochistan’s government’s officials in PPL’s Board of Directors to safeguard the rights of the province.

The demand came after the government allowed a one-year extension in the mining lease contract to PPL for Sui field in Balochistan. PPL operates the Sui Field and has been meeting consumers’ needs for more than six decades.

“Director-general petroleum concession (DGPC) made it clear that such proposal was neither covered in rules nor in policy of the government,” an official familiar with the development said.

Representative of Finance Division said that the government of Balochistan may buy shares of PPL at market rates as PPL was also a central government entity.

“The decision of extension of agreement with PPL was taken on the last day prior to the expiry of the lease,” the official said. He said that the government had extended lease as only an interim arrangement for one year in the larger interest of the nation to avoid any gas disruption in the country.

Balochistan Energy secretary expressed the desire to be briefed on the details of acquisition of shares of Sui/Burma Oil Company in the next meeting.

The official said that PPL was operator of 26 blocks and was holding shares in 17 blocks as non operator.

In another meeting in October, the federal government attempted to take the government of Balochistan into confidence while arriving at the final decision on extending the Sui mining lease, but the issue was not resolved. “This interim arrangement will remain in place only until the resolution of outstanding issues,” the official said.