ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has rejected a summary, recommending bringing the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) under complete control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources.
The ministry desired to take the affairs of Ogra into its hands in an attempt to ensure transparency following deregulation of petroleum product prices and to put an end to disputes related to the regulator, officials said.
“Yes, the prime minister has rejected the summary that suggested giving Ogra under total control of the petroleum ministry,” Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain told The Express Tribune.
Hussain said the prime minister, in order to take a decision, had earlier sought a copy of the resolution passed by the National Assembly standing committee on petroleum along with the summary that called for bringing Ogra under complete control of the petroleum ministry.
The panel, in its meeting held on September 27, passed a resolution for bringing Ogra under the purview of petroleum ministry to make it more accountable and the ministry could properly address oil and gas related issues.
Speaking at a meeting recently, Hussain also pointed out that the ministry was facing problems in resolving oil and gas issues.
Disputes have surfaced in Ogra in recent times. Following differences over permission granted to a parliamentarian to relocate a compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station, the Ogra chairman withdrew powers of former members of oil and gas. Later, the member oil resigned in protest.
The National Assembly standing committee on petroleum is also probing the alleged illegal grant of new CNG licences by Ogra. Defying a ban imposed by the government in 2008 because of severe gas shortages, Ogra issued 306 licences for new CNG stations during fiscal year 2009-10 and 170 licences in 2010-11.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2011.
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