The National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources on Wednesday took this decision on the grounds that BP has sold its business in Pakistan to a Singapore-based firm - United Energy Group. The government should renegotiate the deal with the new owner, the committee said.
United Energy Group bought Pakistani assets of BP for Rs67 billion ($775 million) in December 2010.
The gas sale agreement between BP Pakistan and SSGC expires today (Thursday) but is automatically renewable according to a clause in the initial contract.
The committee gave a 10-day deadline to the stakeholders to review whether the contract has lapsed or not. Meanwhile, it directed SSGC not to disrupt gas supply to Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) for an interim period.
The committee has decided to seek legal opinion from Transparency International whether the contract with BP can still be extended, Standing Committee Chairman Sheikh Waqas Akram said.
There was a difference of opinion between the petroleum ministry and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) whether the BP gas sale agreement remains intact even after the company sold its stakes.
“The gas sale agreement with British Petroleum is now infectious,” said PPRA Managing Director Hafeez-ur-Rehman.
However, Secretary Petroleum and Natural Resources Imtiaz Kazi said that the agreement is still intact even after the sale of BP Pakistan under the rules.
The Sindh High Court has restrained the government from implementing the standing committee’s direction of letting the deal lapse on February 3.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ