Despite assurances, oil firm reluctant to resume work

Official say Hungarian firm MOL ‘trying to blackmail the government’.


Qaiser Butt February 07, 2011

ISLAMABAD: A multinational oil exploration company has refused to resume work at a well in a southern district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa despite repeated assurances from provincial authorities for their security.

The Hungarian company MOL had suspended work at Tal Block in Kohat district after a deadly attack on its staff at the Maramzai oil and gas field on January 21.

Six people, among them four paramilitary troops, and two workers of the MOL had been killed in the attack. Another two employees of the firm were seized by the assailants only to be freed after a few days.  “Perhaps the company wants the government to foot the bill for the security arrangements and is therefore dragging its feet,” an official told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity.

Last week, an MOL delegation had a meeting with the provincial government’s spokesperson Mian Iftikhar Hussain where they sought enhanced security for the company staff. Hussain assured the delegation of every possible help on behalf of the government.

However, the company management is reluctant to resume work for reasons best known to them. “The company is playing politics on the issue,” a senior government official told The Express Tribune. He said the MOL was interfering in the provincial government’s internal affairs by demanding the transfer of few officers from Kohat to other places. “The provincial government is ready to provide complete security to the company’s staff,” the official said. “The company is trying to blackmail the federal and provincial governments.”

When approached, MOL officials refused to comment on the issue. “We want security,” said Aniq Zafar, the media consultant of MOL, when asked as to why the company was reluctant to resume work at the site. However, he did not elaborate what kind of security the company wants for its staff.

Meanwhile sources said the federal ministry of petroleum & natural resources will take up the issue with the K-P government at a meeting today (Monday). A source told The Express Tribune that the ministry is perturbed over the financial losses due to the suspension of the oil operation at Tal Block.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2011.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ